


I Believe the Children are Our Future

by 1_Cut_to_the_space4



Series: New Avengers [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Young Avengers (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Attempt at Humor, BAMF Pepper Potts, BAMF Tony Stark, BAMF everyone, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Canon-Typical Violence, Daddy Issues, Explicit Language, Genderswap-james rogers is now jamie rogers, Healthy Relationships, Hopeful Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Jamie Rogers is not a fan of Steve Rogers, McDonalds was shut down for a reason, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, POV Multiple, Stephen Strange is not a complete prick, Steve Feels, Time Travel, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Trying to keep it neutral, i think, like damn, maybe a little bit but eh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2018-12-10 23:36:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 31
Words: 68,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11702226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1_Cut_to_the_space4/pseuds/1_Cut_to_the_space4
Summary: After the Infinity Wars, earth's mightiest heroes settle down and have children. Unfortunately, peace can never last long. Twenty years after the Infinity War, Thanos strikes again. The death and destruction that Thanos reigns down is so horrible that six young heroes are sent back to prevent the end of the world. There's only one problem, those six heroes are the Avenger's children. Will they be able to put aside family feuds and the after affects of Civil War to save the world, past and present?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title is inspired by "Greatest Love of All" by Whitney Houston. I don't own any of this, it belongs to the masterminds over at marvel and the overlord Stan Lee. Enjoy!

Chapter One “I see the fear rising//Yeah but my hope is burning”  

Jaime Rogers ran faster than she ever had before. Her lungs burned and her legs ached but she forced herself to run faster. The walls of Avengers Tower, her childhood home, whizzed past. The walls that were once covered in paint and marker were now scorched with blast marks and bullet holes. Tears blurred her eyes, nearly making her stumble. _They’re dead, they’re all dead, Oh God they’re dead, my family is d-_

“Run Jaime, run!” Stephen Strange yelled behind her.

Jamie looked over her shoulder, narrowly missing a blast from a Chitauri gun. Strange was running a few feet behind her, his hands dancing in the air surrounded by orange symbols and sparks. His cape whipped furiously behind him, urging its wearer to run faster. Jaime loosened the shield from her back and flung it behind her. It bounced off the wall, flew past Strange and neatly chopped off a Chitauri’s head. Jaime pressed the recall button on her gauntlet and the shield returned to her. She turned a corner, gave a Chitauri a roundhouse kick that Black Widow would be proud off, and nearly ripped the door off it’s hinges opening it. Strange slipped through the door right as Jamie shut it with a bang.

“What took you so long,” Pym asked in his squeaky voice as he flew over to Jaime.

“The Chitauri didn’t really care if we had a schedule or not,” Jamie panted, resting her hands on her knees. That was the most she had ever run, even more than when she and Azari had to run from T’Challa after they hacked the computers to play pink panther wherever he went.

“We need to hurry,” Strange brushed past the panting girl, took off his amulet, and laid it on a table in the middle of the room.

“Did you miss the part where we ran up five floors,” Jaime pointed out. Pym giggled and settled on her shoulder. Jaime felt a hand on her arm.

“Are you alright?” Azari asked, concern evident in his electric yellow eyes.

 _Why does he have to have such beautiful eyes? It is not even remotely fair._ Jamie forced herself not to blush, bit her lip and nodded. Francis, who was standing behind Azari, made a heart shape with his hands. Jamie stuck her tongue at him and he laughed, the asshole. A loud bang against the door made everyone jump.

“You’re going to have to hurry up Doc,” Pym flew down and reverted back to his normal size. Torunn and May, who had been standing off to the side quickly rushed to brace the door. Strange began to chant and the amulet which held the time stone glowed a brilliant green.

“Make haste Doctor Strange, for it seems as if all of the Chitauri army is beating against the door,” Torunn called.

Strange’s chants began to pick up speed and the room darkened like the amulet was pulling all light towards it. Strange suddenly broke off his chanting and yelled “Get ready!” The six young heroes quickly gathered near the amulet.

“Remember the plan Strange, you open the portal and the seven of us go back to fix this,” Jamie said as she picked up the amulet.

Strange waved her order away, stood in front of them, and resumed his chanting. The door began to bend from the force of the Chitauri hitting it. They could hear the guttural grunts and cries of the Chitauri outside, getting louder every second.

“C’mon Strange, it doesn’t need to be pretty,” Jamie urged. Strange stopped, letting his hands fall to his side. An awful expression dawned his face, making dread creep into the young avengers hearts. “

We need more time,” He whispered. “Strange stick to the plan, stick to plan!” Jamie shouted, she grabbed Strange’s wrist before he could do something incredibly stupid. Strange’s lips smiled, but his eyes were mournful. His hand cupped Jamie’s cheek. “This was always the plan,” He said quickly, pressing a kiss against Jamie’s forehead. “Strange!” Jamie screamed as the others yelled out their protests. “Go, save the world, be better than we could,” With that, Strange said the final verse and waved his hands. Green smoke began to swirl around the six.

“No,” Jamie cried. The last thing they saw of their world, of their time, of their friend, was the door bursting open and Chitauri flooding the room. Strange managed to kill several before a blast brought him to his knees. Jamie began to rush forward, she had to help him! “Jamie, no,” Azari grabbed her arm and pulled her back. A final blast hit Strange square in the chest and he fell onto his back. The great sorcerer supreme, Savior of the universe, died on his back, choking on blood and spit, surrounded by Chitauri forces. A sound like a hurricane deafened the young adults before everything went black.

///

 Jamie came to seconds before she hit the ground. Thanks to her rather excessive training, no matter how many times her father said that it wasn’t, Jamie rolled and landed on her knees. Azari landed gracefully on his feet, poor May face planted, and Torunn actually managed to not fall before Pym and Francis bowled into her and sent the three sprawling. Jamie looked up, shock doused her like a bucket of cold water, leaving her breathless. Jamie felt one word become impossibly accurate, she had never before felt connected to one word so strongly.

“Shit.”

Standing before her, in all of his painfully patriotic glory, was Captain America, her father. Behind him stood Ant-Man, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch and Falcon.

“Dad?” Pym whispered, tears forming in his eyes.

Jamie caught him before he could run to his father.

“It’s not him, not yet,” She looked at the heroes.

“Who the Hell are you?” Hawkeye yelled.

Strange, oh how her heart ached when she thought of him, had said they would be transported to wherever their parents were. Jamie wiped the tears from her eyes, she would have to deal with the death of Strange later.

“Clint, language, these are kids,” Captain America, Steve, admonished. Jamie’s eyes watered and her heart squeezed painfully when she heard her father’s voice. She missed him so much, she hadn’t had any time to process what had happened.

“We need to see Tony,” She began, but Hawkeye cut her off.

“Why the fuck do you want to see Stark? Are you his spies,” He sneered.

Jamie blinked in surprise, she knew after civil war Tony and Clint didn’t get along. But the sheer hatred she heard made Jamie take a step back. She heard Francis whisper “What the Fuck?” behind her.

“What’s today’s date?” Jamie asked as she stood up.

“Why?” Ant-man, no Scott, asked. His voice was full of suspicion.

Jamie rolled her eyes. “I’m asking for the date not the nuclear launch codes.”

“It’s June twentieth, twenty sixteen,” Sam answered.

“Thank you,” Jamie turned to face her friends.

“It’s just after the fight,” She mused. They came closer and formed a tight circle.

“I thought Doctor Strange was sending us back to when we could fix things,” Torunn nervously drummed her fingers against the hilt of her sword.

“Apparently it’s now, but Thanos hasn’t even come the first time,” Azari rubbed his chin and leaned against his staff.

“They’re our parents, we saw what happened to them, what do we do,” Pym trailed off as he looked over Jamie’s shoulder. Jamie followed his line of sight. The adults were approaching the circle.

“Who are you and what do you want with Stark,” Steve asked in his ‘I’m Captain America so do as I say’ voice. That was the same voice he used whenever he ordered Jamie to do something. Jamie strongly resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

“Jamie, what do we tell them?” May whispered, the first time she had spoken since they traveled. Jamie bit her lip, they had to tell them something. Jamie realized she had no idea where they even were and how to get to Tony.

“Wait, why did he say Dad?” Sam blurted out.

Jamie muttered a curse, Pym shuffled his feet nervously.

“Jamie, what is our plan of action,” Torrun asked apprehensively.

“We tell them the truth, just not all of it,” Jamie said quickly. _If we tell them the true, and somehow get them to believe it, we can fix things faster._

“How much of the truth,” Azari grumbled, looking suspiciously at the avengers.

Torunn looked at Jamie, the group of adults, then back to Jamie. “Leave that to me,” Torunn clutched her sword and confidently walked toward the adults.

“Torunn, wait-shit,” Jamie tried to pull her back but Torunn brushed her off. As she came closer, the avengers stood in a semi-defensive position. Jamie snorted, Torunn could take them out easily.

“My name is Torunn, Daughter of Thor,” Torunn jutted her chin out proudly.

“Yeah, and I’m the queen of England. You’re just a shitty spy,” Hawkeye laughed, the others nodded in agreement.

Torunn narrowed her eyes at him. “Mr.Barton-Hawkeye- I always thought you to be a good, if not cynical, man. Your son is a brother to me. Is this bitter man before me my childhood hero,” Torunn said loudly, looking every inch the daughter of asgard that she was.

Hawkeye shrank back, looking thoroughly cowed. Da-Steve! Jamie reminded herself angrily. The man wasn’t her father yet, not that he really ever was.

“That’s enough,” Steve stepped in front of Clint. “You can’t really expect us to believe you, six kids just appeared out of nowhere and now you’re saying your daughter of Thor?”

“We’d better go before Torunn punches someone,” Jamie said to the rest of the group. Torunn hated it when someone didn’t believe her. She had punched a policeman when he didn’t believe she had saved a train from crashing.

“Torunn, it’s been a long day,” Jamie turned to face the avengers. "Don’t believe us? Test my shield, it’ll prove we’re right.” She grabbed her shield and held it out to Steve. _Please take it, please believe me_ she silently begged. He looked at the shield, face growing pale like he’d seen a ghost.

“T-That’s my shield, how did you get it?” He whispered.

“Just test it,” Jamie repeated. Dating the shield would prove they were from the future. If only the adults would cooperate. Steve looked at Wanda, she nodded, and Jamie felt something tickle the back of her mind. Anger welled up inside her, replacing the grief. _How dare he, fucking hypocrite!_ Jamie glared at Wanda.

“Stay out of my head,” She snarled.

Wanda’s eyes widened. “How-How did you know?” She asked, not even bothering to deny Jamie.

“You hypocrite, I can’t believe this! You know what, screw all of you. We’re leaving and finding Tony on our own,” Jamie turned on her heels and started to walk away. She felt like screaming, why were parents so difficult!

“Now wait a minute,” Steve grabbed her arm. “Who are you and how did you get my shield?”

Jamie was caught between crying and throwing her arms around her father, confessing everything that had happened. How she knew he died, their last words were terse and unforgiving. The other part of her wanted to scream and curse at him, why did he always have to be damn stubborn! Couldn’t he just listen for once in his life? “I-my name is,” Jamie said thickly. She swallowed the emotions like a pill that left her throat sore and her voice croaking.

“My name is Jamie Rogers, I am your daughter,” She looked Steve dead in the eye. “Do you trust her,” Jamie pointed at Wanda. Steve looked rattled.

“Uh-yes,what, yes I do,” He answered, bewildered.

“Read my mind, feel what I feel, then tell me if you believe us,” Jamie marched up to Wanda and leaned into her personal space. Wanda looked at Steve then hesitantly put a hand against Jamie’s forehead. The moment Jamie felt a probing mind inside her’s, she released it all. All the pain, the loss, the regret, everything. Jamie opened her eyes, she hadn't even realized she had closed them, when she felt Wanda leave her mind. Wanda was on the floor, tears flooding down her face.

"Wanda!” Clint quickly went to her and threw an arm around her shaking shoulders. He looked accusingly at Jamie.

“The pain, the pain,” Wanda sobbed. “It’s real, it can’t be fake.”

“Do you believe me now?” Jamie looked at Steve. Steve opened his mouth but a smooth voice interrupted him.

“Captain, tell me why there are children here?” Jamie heard Azari gasp.

“Utata?” He took a step forward but stopped. The Dora Milaje glared at Azari, they began to raise their weapons.

“Where did you get that,” One of the woman spat, Jamie recognized her as a younger Okoye. She was pointing to Azari’s Panther suit.

“I-It was past down to me,” Azari whispered, staring at his father in wonder.

“Impossible!”

“King T’Challa,” Steve walked forwards. “They say they are from the future.” Jamie gave Steve a -really- look.

“Do they?” T’Challa stood in front of Azari, looking him over. Jamie could see Azari trembling slightly, a bead of sweat ran down his neck.

“My shield,” Jamie blurted out. T’Challa looked sharply at her.

“Look at my shield, see where it comes from,” Jamie continued on, shifting her feet. T’Challa strode over to her.

“Why should I believe you,” He rumbled.

“U-T’challa,” Azari took the shield from Jamie and awkwardly held it out to T’Challa. “We are from the future to prevent something terrible from happening.” Azari swallowed, he looked as if he was about to be sick. T’Challa stared at Azari, analyzing him.

“I will take the shield,” He said slowly. Jamie let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding.

“Thank you so mu-”

“After you tell me who you are.”

Jamie groaned, throwing her arms down by her side. _Fffuuuucckkk meee._

“We can’t tell you everything,” Pym said suddenly. He blushed when everyone turned to him.

“And why not?” T’Challa sounded like he was rapidly losing his patience, which to be fair, was understandable. Six kids claiming to be from the future would cause anyone a hellish migraine.

“It could have unforeseen consequences,” Torunn continued smoothly, sending Pym a you-owe-me-for-saving-your-ass look. Pym smiled gratefully. T’Challa raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

“Hey,” Jamie shrugged, grinning unapologetically, “timelines are a bitch.”

“Language,” Steve muttered, looking at Jamie like she had insulted his mother.

“Indeed they are,” T’Challa smirked. “Very well, we will all go to a conference room where this can be discussed in private.” The group followed the Dora Milaje out. They walked down beautifully decorated hallways. Jamie was so busy admiring the paintings that she didn’t notice Azari had stopped. She ran straight into him.

“Ow, warn someone before-hey are you okay,” Jamie asked when she saw the expression on the man’s face. He was staring at a mirror with a small panther carved into the top.

“That mirror, I broke it when I was nine. Smashed it with my staff,” Azari’s lips quirked into a smile as he remembered. “I thought Utata would feed me to the panthers, he looked so mad.”

Jamie squeezed his arm reassuringly. “Don’t worry, we’ll fix this.”

“You two, hurry up,” Okoye ordered, pointing to an open door. Azari wiped his eyes, gave Jamie a watery smile, then went into the room. Jamie followed him with a final glance at the mirror.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Forgot to mention, but last chapter's title was from Zayde Wolf's "Heroes". This chapter is "Dynasty" by MIIA.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is what happened to the old avengers after Strange teleported Jamie and the rest back in time.

‘Thought we built a dynasty that heaven couldn’t shake//Thought we built a dynasty like nothing ever made”

It was official, Chitauri were annoying sons of bitches. The fuckers kept coming, with the support of Thanos it was like fighting shadows. The team took hit after hit. After the fifth time Tony was slammed into a building, he felt old. Not the old he felt after he went on a mission where he got tossed around on, but old as in the sense that he was tired. He was so tired of losing. He couldn’t sleep, too many faces. Pepper, Rhodney, Happy, Vision, Peter, Harvey, they were all gone. It was just the six now. They all were so tired. Steve had the super soldier serum running through his veins, but that didn’t make him immune to aging. Tony knew that he was going blind in one eye, it showed when he squinted his left eye to throw his shield. Clint had arthritis in his fingers. Everyone could hear the pained gasps and quiet curses every time her drew his bow, but no one said anything. Natasha didn’t look a day over forty, but she too felt her age. It took her longer to reload and she no longer went for flying leap tackles and fancy flips through the air. She stuck to the ground. Bruce had gray hair and shaking hands, and so did the Hulk. Thor had his immortality stick, yet Tony saw the look in his eyes when he thought nobody was looking. Whenever he would take a hit or hear another hero had fallen Thor would look impossibly sad, he looked thousands of years old. Clint, Steve, Natasha, Bruce, Thor and himself were the last ones. Nothing had been officially stated, but they all knew. Deep down in their bones they knew that this was the final fight. T _hank Thor for locking joints._ Tony groaned as his hip began to ache.

"Fri, lock the joints so I can keep walking."

**Yes Boss.**

"That’s my girl."

Tony looked over at Natasha, she was reloading her gun. The taser cuffs had lost power a long time ago during the fight. _Was it an hour ago or days ago? How long have we been fighting?_ A Chitauri took advantage of her being distracted and aimed what would’ve been a fatal shot. Tony grunted with satisfaction as his repulsor sent the shit bag flying off a highway overpass. Natasha’s head whipped up, looked at Tony, and nodded. He gave a lazy salute then took off.

“Cap, what’s it lookin’ like,” Tony barrel rolled out of the way of a Chitauri ship.

“These bastards are tougher than last time,” He grunted.

Tony pushed down the reflex to say ‘language’ and instead focused on Clint.

“Clint, you got three coming in hot.”

Clint cursed over the line. “My position is compromised,” he yelled.

“Stark, assist-” Cap began.

“On it,” Tony interrupted. He put more reserve power into his thrusters and sped towards Clint’s perch.

**Boss, reserve power is nearly gone.**

Tony sighed. “I know, just keep giving it to me until there's nothing left.”

 **I"ll remind you when the battery powers down.** Friday sassed.

Tony cracked a grin. “Baby girl, I’ve missed you sassing me.”

“Stark ETA?” Clint asked in the tone of voice he used when he was about to do something incredibly stupid.

Tony looked at his view screen.

“Two minutes.”

“Make it forty five seconds.”

“Why?” Silence. “Clint?”

“Get ready to catch the assassin,” Clint snapped.

Tony rolled his eyes. Even after twenty years, things were still frosty between the two.

**Boss, vitals are getting low. Your heart can’t take-**

“Friday,” Tony chided, “what have I said about nagging?”

 **I can nag when you’re dead.** Friday replied sulkily.

“Exactly, now calibrate suit for extra weight,” Tony scanned the rooftops for the assassin.

**Already did.**

Tony spotted Clint on the edge of a skyscraper. As soon as Clint saw the Iron Man armor he leaped off the building.

“Did you gain weight,” Tony grunted as he caught the other man.

“You just got weaker,” Clint wrapped his legs around Tony’s waist, let his torso hang and shot arrows upside down while Tony flew to another vantage point.

“Next time,” Tony said as he dropped Clint off, “give me more of a heads up.”

Clint shrugged and resumed firing. Tony huffed then chased after a Chitauri vessel, picking off the aliens one by one.

“We need a plan, they won’t stop,” Natasha barked as she jumped over an abandoned car.

“We have a plan, we're waiting on Strange,” Steve reminded her, taking out two Chitauri before a blast caught him in the back.

“Capsicle, everything alright,” Tony asked. He heard Steve muttered a curse and take a deep breath.

“I’ll be alright, it’s just getting harder to walk it off,” He grunted. Everyone voiced their agreement.

“I just got a message from SHIELD,” Natasha whispered, replaying the message over and over again in her mind.

“What did they say,” Silence crackled over the line.

“Nat?” Clint asked with concern.

Natasha took a deep breath. “They’ve just received confirmation, the x-men are dead. We’re all alone.”

Tony felt his heart drop, leaving it behind as he flew towards Steve and Natasha.

“It’s done then,” Thor said, sadness and acceptance weighing heavily on him. Tony nodded, then remembered no one could see him.

“Now what?”

“We fight til we can’t. We have to give Strange a chance to make it.”

“And if one of us dies,” Natasha asked in that infuriating matter-of-fact tone she used when she thought they were in a no win situation.

“Walk it off,” Cap said with old humor. Tony’s lips quirked up. The good ol’ days, as they sometimes referred to them.

“Roger, Rogers,” Tony laughed softly, firing at Chitauri in his path. The battle continued on, through blood, sweat and tears. It seemed as if it would never end. They would be trapped in eternal conflict. Then the unthinkable happened. The fall, the end of days began with Clint.

“Clint, there’s a fleet coming straight towards you,” Tony watched on his screen as six triangles approached Clint’s position. Clint swore and lowered his bow. He could see the ships, coming towards him.

“I can be there in three minutes,” Tony pushed his suit, clipping a building.

“Don’t,” Clint ordered.

“What?” Tony was so shocked he stopped. _What the fuck is he thinking?_ Natasha was the first to realize what he was doing.

“Clint, don’t be an idiot,” She hissed.

Clint laughed, it sent chills down Tony’s spine. He knew that laugh, he laughed that way in the caves in Afghanistan.

“Clint hold on, I’m coming,” Tony forced his suit to go faster, ignoring Friday’s warnings. Clint sighed as he watched the Chitauri fly closer. He picked out the last explosive arrow he had, loaded his bow, and drew. Clint waited, counting the seconds, feeling his heartbeat. The Chitauri fired at him as they approached. Through some twisted fate they missed, Clint could feel the heat of their blasts as they passed him.

“Hold on,” Tony repeated, he could see Clint, he was so close! Clint saw Tony approaching from the corner of his eye. He wouldn’t get there in time. Clint waited until he saw the eyes of the lead ship’s Chiaturi.

“Give them hell for me,” He said softly, then fired. The blast sent Tony flying back into a billboard. The lead Chitauri ship crashed into the spot Clint was standing in a great fireball, the other five crashed into the building.

“No,” Natasha howled. Tony stood on the edge of the billboard, too shocked to move. _He’s dead? Is he-he can’t be gone, he was just there!_

“Fri, scan-scan for vitals, are there any vital signs,” Tony stared at the spot Clint was.

 **Negative, Boss. He’s gone.** Friday said sadly. And wasn’t that a real kick in the pants? Even Friday was sad to see the archer go, she knew what sadness sounded like.

“Stark, get Black Widow out of there, she’s compromised,” Cap ordered, not letting emotions into his voice.

Tony silently picked up Natasha, ignored her kicking and screaming, and dropped her off on top of a car parking structure.

“I’ll kill them, I’ll kill them all,” Natasha seethed, pacing and waving her gun around.

“Tasha,” Tony said softly, slowly approaching the woman.

“Don’t pity me Stark,” She spat. “He’s dead.” Natasha froze, Tony feared for a brief moment she was going to shoot him, but the ex-assassin spun around and collapsed onto her knees. She mumbled something in Russian then looked up at the sky.

“Is this how we’re going to die,” She whispered, watching as more and more Chitauri poured down from the sky.

“As far ways to go,” Tony sat down next to her, dutifully ignoring the painful spasms in his body. “Going out in a blaze of glory isn’t too bad.”

Natasha continued to stare at the sky. “I always thought I would die in some warehouse in some country, alone and quiet.”

“Atleast now you’ll die in some street in New York.”

“You really know how to comfort someone,” Natasha said dryly, but she was smiling.

“What can I say, I’m a real charmer,” Tony shrugged as much as his suit would allow him. Natasha looked at him.

“Tony,” she began, but shut her mouth and shook her head. Tony flipped up his face mask, the air felt cool against his throbbing skin. Natasha studied his face with a peculiar expression. Tony knew she saw the black eye, the cuts and bruises, and the scars from old fights.

“I want to say i’m sorry, goodbye, I miss the old days, but it wouldn’t mean anything anymore, would it?” Tony sighed and shook his head. If only she had any idea how badly he missed the days when they were a team. It still made his heart ache. If only...

Natasha stood up and offered Tony a hand. He accepted and she pulled him close to her face. She pressed a kiss to his cheek, Tony felt the tears on her lips.

“I don’t know what to say,” she said softly. Tony smiled and extended a hand.

“Hi Ms. Romanoff, I’m Tony Stark. You’ve might have heard of me after I saved the world.” Natasha smiled dolefully, took Tony’s gauntlet, and gently shook it.

“Hello Mr.Stark, we will be working together in the near future.”

“Friends?” Tony looked at Natasha hopefully. She hesitated, but nodded.

“Stark, Widow, status?” Cap interrupted, making the pair jump. Natasha wiped her eyes and answered as stoic as ever.

“I’m fine.”

“Stark?” Tony lowered the mask. “Ready to kick more ass.”

“Good, because it looks like Thanos is here.”

Tony looked up, and sure enough Thano’s black ship was touching down in Central park. Tony wrapped an arm around Natasha and took them down to meet Cap. Thor and Hulk were with Steve, waiting and watching.

“Call it,” Tony said as he touched down.

“Hulk and Thor, sneak around back. Me, Iron Man, and Widow will keep him busy.”

Thor nodded and flew into the sky. Hulk looked at Tony for a brief moment then lurched up to a building and jumped away. _I think Brucie just said goodbye._

‘I’m guessing that the plan is to make Purple Man really, really pissed,” Tony smirked, powering up every last weapon he had left.

Cap grinned, he looked reckless, and slowly spun his shield in his hand as he waited. Natasha loaded her guns, put them in her holster, and drew out a wicked looking rifle.

“Where the hell were you hiding that?” Tony looked the ex-assassin up and down, trying to find out where she had stored a gun as long as her arm. Natasha grinned as calibrated her new weapon. Tony and Steve looked at each other and shrugged as if to say ‘It’s Natasha, we should’ve expected this’. They waited as Thanos took his sweet ass time to come out of his ship.

“What is he waiting for, we aren’t getting any younger,” Tony grumbled.

“Feeling old Stark,” Cap smiled, mischief alight in his eyes.

“I’m sixty five, not dead,” Tony sniffed. “At least not yet,” He added under his breath.

Finally, Thanos emerged from his ship. He looked exactly as Tony remembered, right down to his muscle meat head armor.

“I swear he wears that to show off his arms,” Tony commented, pointing to the approaching titan.

“Every villain has their outfit,” Cap raised his shield and bent into a fighting stance.

“Boys,” Natasha said, causing both men to look at her. “It’s been fun.” Tony smiled at her, while Cap gave a salute.

“Avengers,” Thanos bellowed, his deep voice reverberated across the park, bouncing off the trees.

“I’ve realized my mistakes.”

“What, coming here in the first place,” Tony grinned when the titan focused his burning red eyes on him.

“I was too arrogant,” The man titan continued, turning to stare at the other remaining heros. “I thought Earth was too easy.”

“And now?” Cap called.

They could see Thanos’s grin from where they were standing, and for the first time Tony was afraid. _Fucking titans and their creepy silence of the lambs grins_.

“Now I know Earth is ripe for the taking,” Thanos crowed, puffing out his chest.

Tony rolled his eyes.

 **He hasn’t changed at all.** Friday commented dryly.

Tony smirked, feeling proud of his AI’s sassiness. The three exchanged a glance before Cap leaped forward and shouted “Now!” Tony blasted off of the ground and began to fire at Thanos, flying faster than a bullet. Natasha sprinted towards the Titan, gun poised. Cap ran fast on her heels, arm winding back to throw his reserve shield. Thanos let out a bellow when a crack shot of Tony’s hit him squarely in the face. While Thanos was momentarily blinded, Natasha leaped through the air, propelled by Cap’s shield, and landed in a crouch. She quickly aimed and began firing at Thanos. Cap threw his shield, it bounced off of Thanos’s arm. Tony flew in low and laid down a spray of bullets then got out of range.

“Hit and retreat, make him mad,” Cap grunted, bouncing his shield off a tree and slamming into Thano’s jaw.

“Friday, gimme something good to hit,” Tony said, scanning Thanos.

**On his sides, some of the paneling doesn’t reach all the way around.**

Tony grinned and locked his targeting systems. Tony raised his arm to fire, but stopped. A red light flashed on his HUD, the Hulk, he was coming close.

“Cap, jolly green is inbound,” Tony flew to the other two, not wanting to be in the Hulk’s way.

“Keep Thanos focused on us, keep the fighting towards us,” Cap ordered.

The three hit and jabbed at Thanos like wolves wearing down an elk. Tony had released a volley on flares and was on his return arc when he saw Natasha standing motionless on the ground.

“Natasha, get moving,” Tony snapped, “Thanos will see you.”

Natasha didn’t acknowledge him, eyes focused on the purple giant. She raised her rifle slowly, not blinking. Thanos saw the woman, and how she wouldn’t move out of his way, and grinned.

“You’re death will be just as pitiful as his was,” Thanos sneered, raising his gauntlet.

Tony cursed and barreled towards the woman. He grabbed her and shot away, but not before taking a blast to his right leg.

‘What the hell-” Tony began, but he stopped when he looked at Natasha’s face. She was staring blankly back at him, her fists were gripping the rifle with white knuckles.

“Blaze of glory, remember?” Tony gently set her down, looking intently into her eyes. She blinked, looking at Tony as if for the first time.

“I-yes,” She sighed. “It’s not how he would’ve wanted me to die.” Tony smiled at her.

“He wanted to keep you at his farm, with everyone else, and sit on the porch playing banjo music until the world ended.”

“He never could play, but Laura didn’t have the heart to tell him he sounded like a dying cat,” A shadow of her classic smirk flashed across her face.

“Are you two done or do you want me to fight Thanos on my own,” Steve snapped, hurling his shield again and again.

“Getting tired, need me to get your walker,” Tony asked innocently.

“Take that walker and-” Steve didn’t finish, Thanos had shot a blast towards the super soldier and hit him in the chest, sending the man flying backwards.

“Cap-Steve,” Tony yelled, flying towards the aging hero. Thanos was advancing towards them, the hand wearing the gauntlet was raised menacingly.

“I will take great pleasure in eradicating you,” He smiled, eyes flashing with murderous glee.

“Like you did such a great job the first time,” Tony quipped. If he was going to die, he was going to die being an asshole. Thanos glared at Tony. his faces twisted with disgust. Friday quietly alerted the team that the Hulk was less than two minutes away.

“You aren’t at full power,” Cap croaked, struggling to stand up. “It won’t be easy to kill us.”

Tony saw a flash of green and the Hulk leaped across buildings. _C’mon, c’mon, just a little longer._

“No,” Thanos agreed, “but it will be more enjoyable. I can still kill you all with ease.”

“Sure about that,” Tony fired a repulsor blast at Thanos. With a great roar, the Hulk jumped off of a building and hurled towards Thanos. Thanos, not even sparing a glance upward, calmly reached out his hand and cut Hulk’s roar off by catching him by the throat.

“I thought you were smarter beast,” Thanos said disinterestedly.

“No,” Tony gasped, desperately figuring a way to help his friend.

Thanos began to squeeze Hulk’s neck, not flinching as he swung and kicked at the titan. Hulk soon stopped struggling, his eyes were growing dim. _Think, think, think, I have to help him! I won’t let him die, not like this. He doesn’t deserve it._ The hulk slowly changed back into Bruce, the green receding like the air from his lungs. Bruce looked at Tony, smiled, then turned back to Thanos.

“Goodbye beast,” Thanos said, then with a quick turn of his wrist he snapped Bruce’s neck.

Tony let out an anguished cry and fired a rocket at Thanos. He turned out of the way and tossed Bruce’s body onto the ground. Natasha stared at his body numbly.

“Friends, I am headed towards you now. Tell me, how is the Hulk faring. Has he left any for me?” Thor’s voice boomed over the coms.

Tony stared at Bruce’s lifeless body, his head was bent at an unnatural angle. Natasha was slowly shaking her head, like she couldn’t believe he was dead.

“Thor,” Steve said softly, like he was talking to a wounded animal.

“Hulk-Bruce- he’s dead.” The sound of wind racing by and the tell tale crackle of lightning answered Steve.

“Point break,” Tony began.

“Nay man of iron,” Thor said sternly.

Tony looked up and saw Thor hovering next to him. “Save your words, I have had to bury too many friends and condolences mean nothing to me anymore.”

Tony said nothing, he understood Thor all too well. _I know what you mean, I can’t go to another funeral. I just can’t._

“Thor, do you think you’d be able to kill him if we gave you a distraction,” Steve asked, strategies and plans flashing through his eyes.

Thor looked darkly at Thanos. “I do not know.”

“Stark and Thor, go above. Me and widow will-” Steve was cut off by Natasha cursing. The men whipped around and they saw Natasha pinned behind a tree. Thanos was emitting a yellow beam from his gauntlet, slowly chipping away at the tree. Natasha peered around the tree then made a dive for a nearby bush. Thanos jerked his hand to follow her, hitting the avenger in her side. Thor threw mjolnir at Thanos’s wrist, knocking his aim off. Tony and Steve raced over to Natasha. She was laying on the ground, gasping and clutching her side. Blood dripped between her fingers.

“Here,” Steve said, tearing a piece of his uniform off to bandage her wound. Natasha's mouth was pressed into a thin line against the pain as Steve tightened the bandage.

“Are you up for round two,” Tony asked, cataloging her injury. Natasha grinned up at him like a shark, blood tinting her teeth red.

“I’m on round five, you’re just slow.”

Tony threw his hands up and huffed dramatically. “Bleeding and you still can insult me.”

Steve smiled at her then looked up at Thor. He was flying around Thanos, striking him with bolts of lighting. The mad titan was roaring with frustration. Tony looked at Steve, he nodded, and the engineer took off to help Thor.

“Leave some for me,” Tony came up next to Thor, firing repulsors at the infinity gauntlet.

“It is good to fight beside you once again Anthony,” Thor yelled over the sounds of battle.

“Likewise,” Tony called back. They had briefly fought together when Thanos first came but that was twenty years ago.

“How is lady Natasha fairing?” Tony repeated the question to Cap, narrowly missing a backhand from Thanos.

“She isn’t looking too good,” Steve admitted.

Tony cursed, he flew upwards to survey the area but a blast from behind caused him to topple down to earth.

“The Chitauri have returned,” Thor growled, striking several down with a lighting storm.

“Thanos,” Steve roared, “what happened to fighting us on your own?”

Thanos waved a hand at the Chitauri, forcing them to halt. “I will finish them off,” He vowed.

Tony slowly got to his feet, barely listening to Friday as she notified him of broken ribs.

**Boss you need to see a doctor.**

“No time,” Tony ground out. “We need to end this now.”

Tony scanned Thanos, looking for a weak point.

“Now would be a good time for a hail mary,” Tony muttered.

“We need to regroup, figure out another strategy,” Steve barked.

“Forgive me Captain for I cannot wait any longer,” Thor rocketed up into the sky, into the glare of the sunlight.

“Thor!”

“Thor, princey, talk to us. What are you doing,” Tony began to fly after him.

“For the fallen, for Torunn, for Asgard,” Thor cried as he dove towards Thanos, taking no notice of the blasts the Titan fired at him. Lightning curled around and enveloped the king of Asgard. Thor landed directly in front of Thanos and with a mighty yell he released the full power of the God of Thunder. Thanos flew backwards with a cry, blindly striking out with his gauntlet.

“Well that worked,” Tony walked over to Thor and patted his shoulder. The God didn’t respond, he was blankly staring at Thanos.

“Thor?” Tony turned to Steve and Natasha, they were making their way over, and shrugged.

“Thor, maybe you should sit down,” Natasha said gently, grabbing one of the asgardians hands. Tony looked down and felt sick. While Thanos was lashing out, he had hit Thor through the chest, leaving a hole. Thor laid on the grass and stared up at the sky. The other three kneeled beside him.

“Did-did I kill him,” Thor gurgled, trying to move his head up. Tony placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Yes,” he lied, staring at Thanos who began to stir. Thor looked up at Tony, he knew he was lying.

“My friends,” Thor croaked, “I know we had our troubles on Midgard. But I hope to see you all in Valhalla. Valhalla...”

“Save us a seat,” Steve remarked, gazing sadly at Thor. Thor nodded weakly, returning his gaze to the sky. He looked like he was searching for something. As the king of Asgard closed his eyes, the air around his shimmered. If Tony turned his head a certain way, it seemed like a soft rainbow light was covering the king. Thor exhaled for the last time with a weary smile on his face and the world seemed dimmer. Natasha raised her head to glare at Thanos.

“How do we kill him,” She asked coldly.

“Hit him with everything we have,” Steve answered. His voice sounded defeated as if he was beginning to believe they weren’t going to win. Natasha nodded sharply then stalked towards Thanos. Tony wrapped an arm around Steve’s waist and dropped him off near Natasha. Tony soared into the sky, dive bombing Thanos every time he tried to stand up. “Enough with this insolence,” Thanos roared, pointed a finder at Natasha, and sent out a beam of yellow light.

“Nat,” Tony yelled. She blinked, looking at herself, astonished to still be alive.

“Kill them,” Thanos commanded. “Tear their flesh from their bones.”

“Nat what the Hell,” Tony started but stopped, looking at Natasha in horror as her eyes flashed a pale blue. She walked over to Thanos and held out a hand. He produced a curved sword and gave it to her. She took a step forward, hesitated, the took a step back. A step closer to Thanos.

“Natasha,” Steve put his hands up and walked towards her. Tony quickly landed next to Steve and flipped up his mask.

“You know us Nat,” Tony said, staring imploringly into her unnatural blue eyes. She gazed at Tony, Steve, then to Bruce’s body and Thor’s. When her gaze returned to Tony’s, he tried to smile.

“Blaze of glory.” _Please don’t make us fight you. I can’t- I won’t fight you Nat. Please._

She stared back at him and took another step towards Thanos.

“Attack them,” He ordered impatiently. She stepped even closer to Thanos.

“No,” She said softly.

“What,” Thanos hissed, glaring at Natasha.

Natasha’s face morphed into hatred, the blue in her eyes vanished. She wheeled around, snarling like an animal.

“I will die being myself,” She snapped, driving her sword into Thanos’s stomach. Thanos’s eyes widened, looked at the sword protruding from him gut, then with a roar batted Natasha away. Tony’s eyes followed her, wincing as she landed on the ground with a sickening crunch. Taking full opportunity of Thanos’s distraction, Tony and Steve raced to Natasha. She was smiling and whispering in russian when they reached her. They remained silent as she died, listening to Thanos scream and bellow with rage behind them. Natasha’s hands shot out and gripped Tony and Steve’s hands.

“Я в мире. До свидания, до свидания,” she murmured, a calm look eased onto her face. She looked at peace for the first time in years.

Tony and Steve held her hands until she died, whispering comforting words. Steve stood up and looked over at Thanos. He had ripped out the blade and was advancing towards the last two avengers.

“Need help?” Tony looked up, Steve was extending out a hand.

Tony stared at the hand and snorted. It was an olive branch, a opportunity for a do over. Tony chuckled humorlessly. _Leave it to us to wait twenty years for a second chance._ But he accepted Steve’s hand, after all, he was grateful he wasn’t going to die alone. Steve hauled Tony to his feet and steadied him as Tony leaned slightly to the side.

“You sure you can make it,” Steve asked with concern. Tony smiled and patted his cheek.

“You sure you’re ready to die with _me_?” Tony said with emphasis.

Steve studied Tony for a long time. Tony began to fidget after a while. “Yes,” he said finally. “It seems fitting, doesn’t it?”

“Hello, hello is anyone still there,” A voice gasped over the line, startling the two men.

“Strange?” Steve looked at Tony, eyebrow raised.

“It’s done, it’s done,” Strange wheezed, sounding like he had something in his throat.

“Strange where are you, we’ll come and-”

“No!” Strange interrupted Steve. “It’s too late for me, buy them some time.”

Tony smiled at Steve. “For Jamie then?”

Steve smiled back and nodded. “For Jamie.”

Captain America and Iron Man turned to face Thanos. The mad titan was marching towards the pair, lips pulled back in a snarl. Tony took a deep breath, steeling himself.

“Friday?”

 **Yes Boss?** She sounded frightened, like a child.

“I’m proud of you.”

 **Goodbye Boss.** She said it quietly and her voice wavered as if the AI was about to cry.

“Here we go,” Tony powered up his repulsors. Together, the last two heroes rushed towards Thanos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry? Stay tuned for the next chapter. Updates are every Thursday. <3


	3. Chapter 3

**“It's an uphill climb//To the finish line//We're gonna try to make it//One more time” -Starting All Over Again by Mel & Tim.**

Once they were all seated, Jamie and the others on one side and the adults on the other, Jamie began to explain.

“We come from the year twenty thirty eight, twenty years after Thanos.”

“Who?” Scott interrupted.

“Thanos is a mad titan,” Azari clarified.

Jamie nodded. “It was called the Infinity War. Many died, but Thanos was defeated. Then for twenty years peace reigned. You all had families. You had us,” Jamie gestured to her friends.

“You’re our kids,” Sam whispered.

“Some of yours, we are the avengers where we come from. You retired.”

Clint laughed bitterly. “I tried that once, it didn’t work so well.”

Jamie bit her lip to stop from snapping _no really?_

“One day, Thanos attacked again. Except this time he wasn’t alone. Every villain any hero has ever faced was with him.” Jamie closed her eyes as she remembered. Doctor Octopus and Doctor Doom sending the Baxter Building, and the Fantastic Four, up in flames. Venom and Red Skull leveling Xavier’s school. The Chitauri tearing down Avengers Tower brick by brick. Everything was in chaos, people and heroes were dying in the streets.

“It was Hell,” May spoke softly. She was hunched in on herself, trying to appear as small as possible.

“What happened,” Sam leaned forward, his eyes were full of concern.

“You died, you all died,” Jamie said bluntly. The adults took a collective gasp.

“All of us?” Wanda looked at Jamie, as if she was expecting her to make an exception.

“All of you.The world was dying, so we made a plan,” Jamie leaned against the table with her palms flat. “The old avengers would hold off of Thanos and his army for as long as they could while Strange would portal us back to where we could prevent Earth’s annihilation. So we could fix things” Jamie clenched her fists.

“Old avengers?” Steve mouthed, looking confused.

“The original six, everyone else was dead. You were still alive when we traveled back but-” She trailed off, staring at Steve and waiting for his reaction. He didn’t disappoint. Steve looked around the room, caught between fierce denial and bitter acceptance. Jamie had a feeling which one he would chose. _I think it’s going to be-_

“No, that can’t be true,” He said stubbornly.

And there it is. “I’m afraid it is true Captain.”

They all turned around, standing in the doorway was a young and very much not dead Shuri. She was holding Jaime's shield.

“This is you shield captain but from twenty years in the future,” She handed the shield to Jamie, who bowed her thanks, and took a seat beside T’Challa.

“What have I missed?”

“Earth go boom part 1, bad guy dies. Earth go boom part 2, good guys die. We came back in time by some arguably sketchy magic to prevent Earth go boom part 2,” Francis answered, twirling an arrow between his fingers.

“Did you just summarize what I spent ten minutes talking about in forty five seconds,” Jamie asked incredulously.

Francis grinned like the asshole he was.

“And sketchy magic? The sorcerer supreme is sketchy?”

“The same guy that tried a levitation spell and ended up upside down in times square for an hour.”

Jamie made a face, that had been an interesting day.

“You still haven’t told us who you are,” T’Challa pointed out.

“Well, my name is Jamie Rogers, daughter of Captain America, Torunn you’ve already met.” Jamie ran down the list. “That asshole in the chair is Francis Barton son of Hawkeye. Babyface boy-"

“Hey!”

“- is Hank Pym Jr., son of Ant-man. The girl with green skin is May Banner, daughter of the Hulk.” Jamie paused, she turned to Azari.

“You want to tell them?” He nodded and shakily rose from his seat.

“I am prince Azari of Wakanda, son of king T’Challa.”

“Prince?” Shuri gasped at the same time T’Challa yelled “My son?”

Azari smiled awkwardly. “Suprise?”

“My God, you suck at breaking the news,” Jamie patted his shoulder. “Right, we need to see Tony now.”

“Why?” Clint narrowed his eyes at her. Jamie opened her mouth, ready to defend her adopted father but someone beat her to it.

“Can you get over your dick measuring contest for one second?” Francis yelled, glaring at his father. “This is about the end of the damn world, not hurt feelings.”

“Kid, a lot more than feelings were hurt. People nearly died,” Sam said with an air of authority.

“And whose fault was that?” Jamie snarled back. Sam was taken aback, shocked by the emotion in Jamie’s voice. Jamie took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. Now was not the time to deal with twenty years worth of emotional shit. They had to make plan.

“It will take everyone to stop this.” _And I hope that will be enough._

“Alright,” Steve stood up. The other heroes looked surprised, as if they couldn’t believe that he would help them. In all honestly, Jamie was a bit surprised as well. When Sam asked him why, Steve replied “because it’s the right thing to do.”

_Right thing to do? How many times have I heard that in my life. Never an explanation, just it’s the right thing to do._

“Wait,” Pym looked confused, “can you even go back to the states yet?”

Shuri looked at T’Challa, expecting him to answer, but he was staring at Azari, not blinking, mouthing the words ‘my son’.

Jamie leaned over to Azari. “I think you broke him.”

“The rogue avengers are close to being pardoned, thanks to Mr. Stark and his lawyers. If I heard correctly, two lawyers were very influential in getting you pardoned. And as per conditions set by the lawyers, Ross has been fired.”

“Why does Stark care?” Steve scoffed bitterly.

“What conditions,” Wanda asked quietly, she looked worried. Shuri ignored Steve’s remark.

“The conditions were that Ross would be fired if Mr. Stark personally paid for the damages in Lagos and Berlin.”

“Why would he do that,” Wanda spoke so softly that she might have been asking herself.

“Because,” Jamie waited until she had eye contact with every rogue ‘avenger’. “Tony Stark is a good man, no matter what you think.”

Steve looked down, refusing to meet Jamie’s eyes again. Sam and Scott looked scolded, but not remorseful. Clint and Wanda still looked like they were surprised Tony hadn’t thrown them to the vultures. In Jamie’s admittedly biased opinion, they still should be. _Tony had always said she was much more angry than he ever was over Civil War. Civil War, she had scoffed. War implies that both sides had a chance of winning. It wasn’t a war, it was a dogfight in the dark between friends. It was a fight designed to kill. After the fight, after Ross,Tony was drained dry. He didn’t have any money to continue helping the new avengers, he-hold on a second..._

“Wait,” Jamie said, her mind racing. “That’s it!”

“What’s it?” Azari looked at Jamie like she had grown a second head.

“We came here to fix things right?” The others nodded.

Jamie felt a grin grow on her face. “I just thought of something we can fix.” She pointed to T’Challa. “With his help.”

“My help?” The king looked recovered enough from the shock of finding out he had a son.

Jamie nodded vigorously. “The conditions of the Ross being fired.”

Realization lit up Azari’s face. “That could work!”

Jamie felt hope for the first time in a very long while. “The deal will take so much of Tony and SI’s money that they will be forced to shut down several major factories. They won’t have the money to make as much technology.”

“So?” Wanda demanded. “Why should we care if he can’t make fancy toys and bombs anymore.”

Jamie forced a smile, rather than flipping off the young witch. “First of all, he doesn’t make bombs anymore, and his ‘fancy toys’ include everything you’ve ever used at the compound. Anyway, it really matters because with the drop in Stark technology, Hammer industries was able to swoop in and take half of SI’s contracts and customers.”

“Hammer Industries, sounds like a strip club,” Sam commented.

“Hammer Industries is another weapons and technology manufacturer, Hammer has been trying to compete with Stark Tech for years,” T’Challa explained with a look of distaste that one only gets when they’ve had to deal with Hammer face to face.

“Compete is putting it lightly. Hammer Industries is what you get when you let a bunch of Monkey’s into a lab and try to sell what they smash together,” Jamie said with a laugh. “When Thanos came, Hammer jumped aboard. Since heroes’ reputation and SI both went to shit, Hammer was able to put his tech into some pretty high places.”

“How high,” Steve asked, lips pursed.

“The pentagon and the white house, to name a few places.” Steve and Sam clutched their wounded patriotic hearts.

“How can I help,” T’Challa asked, still confused. Jamie focused her attention on him.

“Help pay the expenses. You supported the accords right?” T’Challa nodded.

“Then think of helping as an extension of your support. It’s in everyone’s best interest that SI doesn’t fail.”

T’Challa sighed, deep in thought. “I will consider it.”

Jamie smiled. “That’s all that I can ask for. But I do need to ask you for a favor, we need to see Tony.”

T’Challa frowned. “That will be difficult. It will take some time to arrange it.”

“You don’t have to tell him you are hiding the rogue avengers in Wakanda, just tell him we want to see him.”

“How do you know that,” T’Challa looked startled.

Jamie smiled wryly. “From the future, remember?”

“I will try, in the meantime relax and catch your breath. Maybe change into some civilian clothes,” T’Challa sent a pointed look at the new avengers.

Jamie looked down, she blinked in surprise. She had completely forgot they were all still wearing their uniforms. She was in her Captain America uniform, like her father's except it was more muted in color and form fitting. Pym was wearing his bright green and black uniform. Azari was in his panther uniform with it’s lightning blue streaks. Torunn was dressed in her asgardian armor, much Sif’s armor had been except more regal. Francis was slouching in his black and white jacket, quiver slung across his back and his bow in his lap. May was trying to preserve as much dignity as she could in a sports bra and spandex shorts. They were designed by Tony and Bruce after a three day bender and lots of coffee. Jamie shrugged off her jacket, she had a black tank top underneath, and passed it to May. She accepted it with a grateful smile. Even though May was bigger than Jamie, she was six foot three and built like an Olympic swimmer, she wrapped Jamie’s jacket around her as best as she could. T’Challa had turned away and was speaking softly with Shuri. Jamie took it as a cue to leave and motioned for her friends to follow her.

“I can’t wait to get out of these clothes, I have Chitauri guts over my jacket,” Pym exclaimed once the doors to the conference room had closed.

The six new avengers were walking towards the living quarters, where they had first arrived, and the rogue avengers talked behind them.

“Chitauri?” Steve looked alarmed, not bothering to pretend he wasn’t eavesdropping.

“The Chitauri had gotten into the compound, that’s where we were,” Jamie said, cleaning under her fingernails with a dagger she had hidden in her utility belt.

“I need a shower, a long hot shower,” Francis complained, running a hand through his white hair.

“I don’t think that would get rid of the smell, you always stink,” Jamie grinned, flicking some blood and dirt under her nails at Francis.

“You smell worse than Manhattan did after Namor tried to take it back into the ocean,” Francis snapped.

“And you look about as pretty as an Atlantean,” Jamie shot back.

The adults were watching the argument with concern, however the young adults were watching it like a tennis match.

“It’s okay, they’re always like this. It’ll be over soon,” Azari said, trying to comfort the adults.

“They don’t sound much like teammates,” Steve whispered, trying to be discrete.

“Nay, Mr. Rogers, they are brothers in arms,” Torunn grinned. “In fact, I wish to join in their camaraderie.”

Torunn walked over to where Jamie and Francis were still arguing.

“You should feel bad for me, I’m just a measly human. I have to deal with your super soldier ass!”

“You poor baby, would you like me to get out my violin?”

“Yes, anything to stop you talking!”

“I’ll just whip it out and play ‘quit bitching about it nobody cares’ by Mozart. It’s a beautiful piece.”

“You wouldn’t know beauty if it hit you in the face,” Francis yelled, laughing and ducking out of a half hearted punch by Jamie.

“Beauty is anything but your face,” Jamie retorted, smiling widely.

“My friends, do not argue,” Torunn placed a hand on each of their chests.

“Yes Torunn is right, we have things to do,” Azari stepped forward.

“You both suck,” Torunn said with a great booming laugh.

Pym giggled when Jamie and Francis both squawked in outrage.

“Dammit,” Azari groaned, frustrated. May patted his shoulder sympathetically.

“You know it’ll either end in a fight or a hug. It’s fun to watch.”

“Lighten up Azari,” Pym shrank down, buzzing around the Prince’s head. “It’s not every day we travel back in time to save the world and our parents. You could have fun, that would _shock_ everybody,” Pym gently zapped Azari, flying around in a circle.

“I thought we agreed no powers,” Azari said, his lips were fighting a smile.

Pym stopped, looking confused. “We only agreed to that when we’re playing tag when we were, like, eleven.”

Azari grinned, exposing his white teeth. He sent a small jolt of lighting at Pym through his finger, momentarily stunning the small boy. “You’re it,” Azari yelled, then bounded down the hall.

Pym was dazed briefly. “Hey no fair, you grew up here. Wait up!” Pym zipped down the hall after Azari.

May herded Torunn, Francis, and Jamie down the hall after Azari and Pym. She laughed at the insults the three were hurling at each other in good humor and tried her best to stop fist fights before they could happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's a day late, but Defenders!!!!!!!!!!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a day early, but I am emotionally compromised by Defenders. My. Soul. Hurts. But anywayyyy, the next update won't be on Thursday it will be on Saturday. Updates are moving because school is starting. Which means Football season. Which means Marching Season. Which means my social life will completely disappear.

**"And if you were my little girl**   
**I'd do whatever I could do**   
**I'd run away and hide with you**   
**I love that you got daddy issues**   
**And I do too" -**

**"Daddy Issues" by Neighborhood.**

 

After a quick shower and a change of clothes, Jamie was exploring around the living quarters of the Palace.  _ The Palace, I’m in an actual fucking Palace oh my god.  _ She wandered into the kitchen and began to riffle through cupboards for something to eat.

“If they have pop tarts that would really be amazing,” she muttered to herself.

“Who are you really?”

“Jesus!” Jamie jumped and hit her head against the cupboard. 

She turned around, rubbing her forehead. Standing in the doorway, arms crossed in a classic pissing-contest power stance, was Steve Rogers.

“I’m Jamie Rogers, remember?” She turned back to looking through the pantry.

“You’re my daughter?’

Jamie sighed and rested her forehead against the wall.  _ Can we not do this? Please?? _

“Yes.”

Silence. Jamie turned around to see if he was even still standing there. He was chewing his lip, looking uncertain and wringing his hands. Then Steve looked up and met Jamie’s eyes.

“What is the future like? Am i  a good father? What happens with the accords? Will the avengers be pardoned?”

Jamie held up her hands. “Woah man slow down. I can’t tell you all that.”

Steve deflated before her eyes. “Why not?”

Jamie shook her head. “Because, cosmic consequences! Bad things always happen to people who fuck with time. I am not going to be the idiot who steps on a butterfly.”

“You don’t want to tell me,” Steve persisted. 

Jamie ran her eyes over Steve, he was shifting on his feet. His eyes were darting from Jamie’s face to the wall and back. 

“You want to know if you were right,” she said coldly. 

Steve blinked. “What? No that’s not- no I-”

Jamie walked up to him. “My name is Jamie Ann Rogers, your daughter. In my opinion, you were, are, wrong.”

She stalked past her father, leaving him standing in the doorway, mouth open. She stomped down the hallway, fuming.  _ That ignorant, arrogant prick! I can’t believe him, he-he’s just so amazingly idiotic!  _ Jamie stopped in a hallway and sighed. The anger drained out of her and she rested against the wall.  _ What’s done is done. I’m just here to fix things, not to pick fights he hasn’t even started.  _

“Are you well?”

Jamie turned around, preparing to snap at her father, but stopped. Torunn was standing behind her in ripped jeans, a graphic t-shirt, and a messy bun. Jamie smiled, usually Torunn would wear the armor twenty four seven. 

“Daddy issues.” Jamie chuckled hollowly. “We go twenty years into the past and it’s still the same arguments.”

Torunn nodded sympathetically. “Do not dwell on the past Jamie, it affects the future.”

“But aren’t we in the past?’ Jamie countered.

“You have a point,” Torunn grinned. “But it is their past, not ours.”

Jamie’s brows furrowed as she thought about what Torunn said.

“Come,” Torunn threw an arm around the other girl's shoulder. “Let us find our friends and discuss our father issues.”

Jamie laughed. “We’d be here for years.”

“Most likely,” Torunn agreed, grinning. 

Jamie smiled back and felt all the residual frustration drain from her body. She let Torunn steer her into a polished living room with white furniture. Azari was obsessively examining the pieces of furniture. May and Pym were watching the news. Francis sat on a plush leather chair across from his father. He looked bored and frustrated.

“You  _ can’t  _ be my son,” Clint stressed, “I don’t have a son named Francis!”

Francis sighed like he had had to explain several times. “For the last time, I go by my middle name. My full name is Nathaniel Francis Barton.”

He noticed Torunn pushing Jamie into the room.   
“Jamie,” he yelled, “can you help me?”

“No,” she responded automatically. 

May snorted. “Ouch.”

Azari took a break from his obsessive furniture cataloging and walked over to Jamie. 

“I can’t believe it,” He looked around the room. “It’s so familiar.”

Jamie raised her eyebrows and nodded her agreement. “I know what you mean, it’s like getting body slammed and K.O.’d by deja vu.”

The rest of the rogue avengers filed into the room. Jamie stiffened and Azari looked at her concernedly. Jamie quickly turned tail and walked , not ran thank you very much, out of the room when Steve tried to approach her. As she walked down the hall, she heard the sound of footsteps behind her.

“Look Azari, I do not want to talk to Steve right now. As far as I’m concerned he can suck my dick,” She turned around.

“Enlightening,” T’Challa said dryly. 

Jamie winced.  _ Foot? Meet mouth. I think you’ll get along great.  _

“I’m sorry king T’Challa,” Jamie rushed.

“Please,” T’Challa put his hand up. “It is fine. I wanted to discuss something with you.”

Jamie looked at him with an arched eyebrow. “Really?”

T’Challa nodded and motioned Jamie to follow him.

“Where are-” He cut her off with a wave of his hand 

Jamie followed the King into what looked to be a waiting room of some kind. 

“It is about seeing Stark.”

Jamie perked up. “Can you take us?”

“No.”

Jamie’s shoulders sagged. “I understand.”   
“I can not take you,” T’Challa continued, ignoring Jamie. “The king of Wakanda cannot  _ officially  _ take you into America.”

Jamie stared at T’Challa before she realized what he was saying.   
“Of course, it wouldn’t be appropriate.”

T’Challa nodded gravely. “Even if we could take you, we couldn’t. The security systems around the landing pad are experiencing malfunction. It will take our repair crew a day to fix them.”

Jamie suppressed a smirk. He was good. 

“I understand completely.”

T’Challa’s eyes twinkled with mischief but his face remained impassive. He reminded Jamie so much of Azari that she was thrown for a moment. 

Jamie turned to leave and tell her friends.

“Miss Rogers,” T’Challa called.

“Jamie,” She corrected.

“Miss Rogers,” He smiled but it fell from his face. “Was the fighting, was it that horrible. Was there no other way?”

Jamie chewed her lip. “It was.......awful. We will do everything in our power to prevent it from happening again.”

T’Challa held out a hand. “You have an ally with Wakanda Miss Rogers.”

“Jamie,” She smiled gratefully, turned again to the door, and jogged to her friends. 

She found them and told them to follow her, leading them into a guest room.

“Is it finally time for the orgy,” Francis flopped onto the bed. 

“Real classy,” May observed. 

“We have a way to Tony.”

Everyone immediately focused on Jamie. 

“T’Challa can’t fly us there, not officially. But security systems will be down on the landing pad for the day. We have at the most twenty hours to get into a plane and in the air.”

“It won’t take us that long to hack into the controls,” May said confidently.

Azari and Pym voiced their agreement.

“Go team science,” Jamie cheered. “Okay get everything you need-all the food in the pantries does not count as stuff you need Francis and Torunn- and meet at the landing pad in two hours.”

They nodded and quickly left the room to gather their things. Jamie pulled on her uniform in record time, grabbed her shield, and headed to the landing pad. Torunn and Francis met up with her on the way. Francis was clutching his chest in a weird way.

“Francis if you have food in your jacket so help me God,” Jamie glared at the man as she walked.

Francis grinned innocently. “Food dear Jamie?”

“If you get air sick, do not complain to me.”

The three reached the landing pad and Azari poked out of a plane and waved his hand to show which aircraft they would use. Jamie took a step forward but a hand caught her shoulder. Jamie whipped around like a cat whose tail was pulled.

“Where do you think you’re going,” Steve said, his face etched in mulish determination. 

“Out for a burger,” Jamie retorted and tried to wrench her shoulder free.

“We’re coming with you,” Clint said. 

“Torunn, Francis, get to the plane,” Azari commanded. 

Jamie looked at him.  _ When did he get here? _

Torunn and Francis hesitated, looking at each other, then nodded and started toward the plane. 

“You’re not coming.” 

“Yes we are,” Sam scoffed. 

“Why,” Azari said simply. “The world sees you as war criminals. If you came, you’d be a hinderance to us.”

Sam stared at Azari as if he couldn’t believe what he heard.

“You aren’t coming, that’s final. Now let go of me.”

Steve shook his head. “We want to help so we’re coming.”

Jamie groaned. She knew she couldn’t punch her way out of her father’s grasp. 

“What about Bucky, you’re going to leave him here?”

Steve looked uncertain, Jamie was almost sure she had him until he shook his head. 

“He’s getting better, I’ll get him when he’s awake. You’re my daughter.”

_ As if that means anything you prune.  _

Jamie pushed herself into Steve’s face. “Fine,” she snarled, “you wanna know what kind of father you are? When I was eighteen I wanted to change my name. Tony was the only reason I didn’t, he convinced me not to. After I learned what you did to Tony, you said I didn’t understand. I couldn’t understand. But. I. Do. I understand you are an arrogant jack ass who only thinks of himself and uses the people around him to get what he wants. I support the accords  _ Steve,” _ She spat out his name like it was poison. 

Steve recoiled as if he had been punched. Jamie took the opportunity to tear her shoulder from his grip and sprint towards the plane, Azari directly behind her. 

‘Look out,” Pym pointed behind them.

Jamie turned and saw Wanda and Clint chasing after them. Francis took a box of noodles from his shirt- _ fucking knew it- _ and lobbed it at Wanda. She ducked it but the box distracted her long enough that Pym was able to shock her hard enough to throw her to the ground. Clint stopped and ran to Wanda. 

“We need to go,” Jami yelled as she clambered into the plane 

Pym slipped through the door just as it closed. 

“That went well,” Francis said sarcastically. 

He went and joined May in the cockpit. 

“I always forget you know how to fly.”

May gave him a withering look. “I was a SHIELD agent before this,” She motioned to her body. 

“That’s right, trained and named after the cavalry herself,” Francis’s hand whipped across the control board. 

“Setting destination to New York,” May called as she entered the coordinates into the navigation systems. 

“Wait,” Jamie hurried over, ‘we actually don’t have a place to land.”

“We’ll figure it out on the way,” May leaned over Francis to point at Sam and Steve who were running to the plane.

“Wheels up,” May called and yanked on the controls. 

The other four dashed to open seats and strapped themselves in. The plane lifted off the ground before the rogue avengers could reach it. 

“Think we can pull of a roll if we need to,” May asked as she kept an eye on the tracker. 

“A what,” Francis yelled. 

May pointed to the tracker. A green triangle was rapidly approaching the plane. 

“Falcon,” May growled. “Which means the rest aren’t far behind.”

“They just can’t take no for an answer,” Francis huffed then nodded. 

May started to make the necessary calibrations but a blast rocked the plane. Jamie swore and grabbed Pym’s arm before he could go flying. 

“Buckle up,” She ordered.

“Open the door,I will deal with him,” Torrun said and began to unbuckle.

“No,” May smirked. “I got this.”

May watched the tracker, waiting until Falcon was in the correct position. 

“On my signal,” She looked at Francis. 

May continued to wait, fingers itching to move. The tracker beeped as Falcon got within range.

‘What are you waiting for,” Jamie yelled.

“Now,” May screamed and together her and Francis jerked the plane into a roll.

They all yelled as the plane twisted in air. There was a muffled thump on the right wing and the green triangle disappeared from the tracker. 

‘Did you just swat Falcon out of the sky,” Francis laughed incredulously. 

May grinned wickedly at the him. 

‘Don’t get too cocky,” Jamie unbuckled herself and walked to the cockpit. “We still need to clear Wakandan airspace.”

The heroes remained tense and silent until May said they had cleared Wakandan airspace.

Jamie loudly exhaled. “Now where should we land?”

“An airport,” Francis suggested sarcastically.

“Sure, a technically stolen plane from Wakanda requesting to land wouldn’t be suspicious at all,” May drawled. 

“Sorry I had a suggestion,” Francis snapped.

“Guys,” Jamie interrupted. “Cool off. But May is right, we need somewhere else to land.”

“Remember the fields around the compound,” Azari looked at Jamie.

She smiled as she remembered many hours of  training exercises that always ended with an explosion of some sort. 

“Do you think you two could land there?” Azari directed his attention to May and Francis. 

“Probably,” Francis said at the same time as May said “yes.”

Jamie put a hand on his shoulder. “You got this.”

Francis gave her a small smile then jumped when Torunn stuck her head into the cockpit and yelled: “We are approaching New York!”

Jamie looked over the painfully familiar skyline. “Does Peter still live here?”

“I think so,” Pym said, then grinned and cackled. “I’m finally older than him!”

“By three years,” Azari pointed out.

“So,” Pym glared at him, “I’m eighteen. Legally an adult and older than him!”

“Congratulations,” Jamie said sarcastically. “Alright, here’s the plan. Me and Azari will go and find Peter. The rest of you will wait in the plane until we get back. Then we go into the compound.”

“Why do we need Peter,” May looked at Jamie questioningly. 

“We need Tony to believe us, and it will be easier to convince him that we’re not crazy if we have someone he knows.”

Jamie looked at May then Azari. “Does that meet your standards?”

May nodded sagely, trying not to smile. Azari chuckled and nodded his head. 

“Can I come?” Pym asked, giving Jamie his best puppy face. “He might feel safer if someone close to his own age is there.”

Jamie glared at Pym. “Just how old do you think we are?”

Pym looked at her innocently. “Do you really want me to answer that?”

Jamie groaned. “I really did set myself up for that. I’m twenty, not fifty.” She glanced at Azari. 

“You can come.”

Pym whooped and jumped around, dancing like a deranged monkey. 

“But,” Azari said sharply. “You have to keep your mouth shut about the future.”

Pym stopped ‘dancing’ and glared at Azari. “Buzzkill.”

Azari shrugged, “just follow our lead.”

“Let’s roll,” Jamie stepped out of the plane and onto solid ground. “We have a spider to catch.”

//// 

The three ran out of the trees and raided a surplus market for clothes. Pym hid their uniforms high in a tree. After an awkward taxi ride where the driver switched between flirting with Jamie and Pym, Azari looking like he would like nothing better than to tear the man’s throat out, they reached Queens. Jamie put her hands on her hips. 

“Now where the Hell does he live?”

Azari scanned the area. 

“Hot dog,” Pym yelled and raced towards a stand. 

Azari and Jamie looked at each other. 

“Do you have any money?”

“No.”

“Well shit.”

 Jamie opened her mouth but Pym stuffed a hot dog into it.

“Mmph!”

“How,” Azari looked at the hot dog Pym put into his hand.

“Did you take these,” Jamie tried to say around a mouthful. 

“Nope, that’s Reggie,” Pym said brightly, pointing to the vendor who waved at the three. “He’s really nice! He said I remind him of his son, who’s going to Harvard--isn’t that cool--and gave me these for free!”

Azari and Jamie stared at him. 

‘What,” He frowned, “is there something on my face?”

“You weren’t gone for five minutes,” Azari exploded, shaking his hot dog. “How?”

Pym shrugged. “I dunno, he’s nice and we just started talking.”

“There!” Jamie yelled, pointing her hot dog at the roof tops. A flash of red and blue dashed across a roof top. 

“C’mon,” Jamie ran down an alley with Pym and Azari and climbed a fire escape. 

Jamie reached the top and saw Spider Man disappear down another building. She swore softly then hauled herself onto the roof. The three raced after Spider Man. 

“Wait,” Jamie skidded to a halt. Pym gently ran into Jamie and Azari stopped beside her. 

“What,” Pym complained, rubbing his shoulder. 

Jamie motioned to the far rooftop. Spider Man was sitting on the edge and looked like he was talking on the phone. She crept along, with Pym and Azari behind her, until she could hear what Peter was saying.

“Uh, hey Happy it’s me. It’s Spider Man? I was just calling to ask if Mr.Stark, I mean Tony, wait no Mr. Stark, uh Iron Man? Does he have anything I can do?”

Pym clapped a hand over his mouth to stop from laughing. Jamie bit her lip and Azari was grinning.

“He’s not a Iron Man fanboy my ass,” Jamie snickered quietly. 

“If we ever see him again in our time I am so making fun of him,” Pym giggled, then stopped.

“If,” He whispered.

‘Hey,” Jamie wrapped an arm around his shoulder. ‘Don’t think like that.”

Pym sniffed, wiped his eyes, then nodded. Jamie smiled encouraging at him.

“How should we approach him,” Azari asked. 

Jamie looked at Spider man’s back, at the ridiculous spider, then an idea popped into ther head. 

“You always say the best approach is the most direct one,” She smiled at Azari.

“Yes?”

“Follow me!”

////

Peter sighed and hung up.  _ That sounded desperate. Like creepy desperate. Not I miss you but full on stalker desperate.  _ Peter took a forceful bite from his sandwich. The hair on his nape raised but before he could turn around a blonde girl sat down next to his right side and a dark curly haired boy sat to his left. A boy with black hair that didn’t look much older than him hovered,  _ he is hovering, are tHOSE WINGS???????,  _  in front of him.

“Hi Peter,” the boy beamed. 

Peter yelped and dropped his sandwich.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned, the New Avengers meet Tony! How will it go? Will someone crash the reunion? Why was McDonalds closed down? Goodbye for now <3.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates are every Saturday. XO.

**“What if all you understand,**

**Could fit into the center of our hand,**

**Then you found it wasn't you,**

**Who held the sum of everything you knew”**

**Soundgarden ‘Live to Rise’.**  

Peter scrambled back, raising his hands defensively.

“Who-How-what,” He babbled.

Jamie put her hands up to show she was unarmed.

“We don’t want to hurt, we just want to talk.”

Peter looked at them suspiciously. Before Jamie could elaborate, Azari walked up to Peter.

“We are from the future to stop a mad titan from destroying Earth,” He said bluntly.

Jamie glared at him. “Seriously? No lead in, just say it,” she waved a hand.

“You’re kidding,” Peter laughed nervously.

“Nope, it’s all true. We need you help,” Pym landed on the ground.

Peter blinked at him.

“We need you to take us to Tony,” Jamie clarified.

“Mr.Stark, how do you know him?”

Jamie huffed a laugh. “He is....like a father to me. Just like he is to you.”

‘Why should I believe you,” Peter threw his hands up in the air. “You literally sound crazy.”

“We know who you really are,” Jamie said.

“Are you threating me?”

"No," Jamie said quickly. She looked at Pym who was staring at Peter like he was Jesus himself. “What if we told you something that only people who know you would know?”

“Like what,” Peter took a step towards them.

“Your favorite food is May’s wheat cakes,” Jamie said quietly. _The day she died, you made Wheat Cakes. Every year you would make wheat cakes on the day she died, you always said they were never as good as hers._

Peter stopped, staring at Jamie. “H-How do you know that?”

“You told me Peter. You and Me, we were like family. I need your help,” Jamie pleaded, unbidden tears sprung to the corners of her eyes.

Azari looked from Jamie to Peter, waiting for a reaction. They waited for a few seconds, watching Peter as he made a decision.

‘I’ll help you.”

“Thank you,” she sighed. “We’ll take you to the others first.”

“Others,” Peter stopped.

“The rest who traveled with us, don’t worry there’s only three,” Pym smiled and shrank down.

“That’s freaky. I mean it’s cool, but freaky.” He turned to Jamie and Azari.

“I don’t trust you,” Peter admitted. “But if it will help save Mr. Stark, and the world, I’m in.”

////

“Hello,” Jamie called.

They had retrieved their uniforms and were standing outside the plane.

“Password,” A voice rang out.

Jamie rolled her eyes. “Open Sesame.”

“No, it’s actually-”

“Francis, open the damn door,” May barked.

“Fine,” Francis grumbled.

Torrun ran and hugged Peter the second she saw him.

“Peter!” Francis gave him the most awkward fist bump Jamie had even seen. May kept her distance and eyed him warily. Peter jumped when he saw her.

‘Woah you’re tall! And _green_!”

“Really,” May said so dryly that Jamie was sure New York was now in a drought.

“Sorry,” Peter cringed. “No filter.”

“It’s better than the first time,” Jamie reminded her. The first time Peter met May he had called her the Jolly Green Giant. It did not end well.

May’s lips quirked up. “True.”

“So,” Peter said after a pause. “You guys want to see Mr. Stark?”

Jamie sighed then nodded.

“I’ll call and see if I can get him.”

While Peter presumably called Happy, Jamie walked over to Azari and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Ready to go back,” She asked. Azari stared at the wall opposite them.

“You know, he made me promise.”

Jamie waited for him to continue, looking up at him.

“He made me promise to protect you, to protect them.”

Jamie exhaled through her nose.

“Not everything is your responsibility Simba, remember that you can rely on us.”

Jamie heard, and felt, Azari chuckle. She looked up at him again. He was smiling down at her and it sent her heart fluttering.

“You haven’t called me Simba in a long time.”

Jamie frowned, surely she must have....Azari put an arm around her and gently squeezed her shoulders.

“And I know. We’re a team.”

Jamie had a sudden and intense urge to kiss him. _If i just stand on my tip toes I could-No! What am I thinking?_

“We can see him now,” Peter said, breaking the moment.

Azari’s arm fell down to his side and Jamie slipped away, feeling strangely guilty. Francis looked at her knowingly and she very maturely did not flip him off.

“Will you be able to face him,” May asked.

“We’ll see,” Jamie answered honestly. May nodded then turned to Peter.

“Let’s go.”

Jamie took a steadying breath and followed Peter out of the plane. They emerged from the tree line and walked along the road. Pym and Torrun started a bet to see who would make a car stop first by sticking out their thumb. Azari remained close to her as they walked towards the front gate. Peter pressed the call button, shifting on his feet.

“Nervous?” Jamie asked. Peter looked at her.

“I’m showing up with six random people who say they’re from the future. He’s gonna think we’re insane.”

Jamie shrugged. “Maybe....probably.”

“Hello?” _Happy?_

“Hi Happy, it’s me.”

“Who?”

Peter groaned. “C’mon man, it’s me. Peter!”

The box buzzed then the gate swung open.

“Walk fast.”

The seven quickly made their way to the front of the Avengers Compound. Jamie hesitated at the main entrance.

“Are you going in,” Torrun asked and stopped beside her.

“Last time we were here, it was being blown to hell.”

Torrun studied the walls, windows, and door. “It will be refreshing to see it whole.”

Jamie smiled wryly at her. “Was that a question or statement? You don’t sound so sure.”

“Are we ever sure of anything,” Francis said as he stood on the opposite side of Jamie.

“We want to save the world,” May commented.

“At least we are sure we want too. If we can is another matter,” Azari muttered.

“Don’t be such a buzzkill,” Pym scolded him. “We have to go in some time.”

Peter stood with his hand on the door. “You still coming?”

Jamie turned. The others had formed a semicircle behind her. “Fuck it,” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Francis grinned. ‘Fuck it,” he agreed. May and Azari nodded. Pym gave her a thumbs up.

“Then what are we waiting for,” Torrun strode to Peter. “Let’s go in!”

“You heard the woman,” Jamie smiled and followed Peter and Torrun into her old home.

“Parker,” A voice called.

Jamie knew him instantly. _Happy Hogan, Iron Man’s bodyguard. You died saving Pepper. You died a hero, we held a funeral. Tony said you were one of his closest friends. Pepper loves you._ Jamie frowned and shook her head to dispel her morbid thoughts. It wasn’t important right now.

“Happy, I-”

“Who are these people? Do they have badges?”

Jamie smiled thinly, still bogged down by her memories. “We are here to see Tony.”

“Why.”

“We are an embassy from Wakanda with an urgent message from the king,” May said smoothly.

Everyone stared at her. Azari’s brow creased the way it did when someone wasn’t telling the truth.

“What,” Peter and Happy asked in unison.

“We were told to seek out Mr.Parker and tell him we needed to speak with Mr.Stark. Please, we are on a tight schedule and the message is urgent.”

“What message,” Happy looked up at May suspiciously.

“Do you want to waste the king’s time?”

Happy frowned and glared at May. “I’ll take you to see Mr. Stark, but I’m watching you.” He looked at Peter. “All of you.”

May smiled like a shark. “Of course.”

Happy stepped away to get them all a security badge.

Jamie snapped out of her surprise. “May, what the hell?”

“Yeah, you didn’t tell me you were from Wakanda,” Peter yelled, his voice going high.

“We’re not,” May turned to Jamie. “We need to see Tony now.”

“But that’s Happy!” May rolled her eyes.

“Exactly. It would take too long to explain things to Happy.”

“Fine, but don’t go off by yourself, lone wolf gun slinger style. This is a team.”

“If anything, I’m being a team player,” May exclaimed. “I’m helping the good of the team by speeding the process up.”

“You are scary,” Peter muttered. May grinned at him.

“I am so glad you're on our side,” Francis looked at May with something akin to awe.

“You are,” she agreed.

“Alright Miss Humble, here comes Happy with our badges.”

Happy gave them all security badges, eyeing May suspiciously. He turned and led them down to a conference hall. Jamie could’ve walked there in her sleep. He left them in the room and slammed the door shut. May glanced at the clock in the wall.

“We have approximately an hour before he can contact Wakanda.”

Jamie sat down in the head chair to an oval table. She put her head in her hands and sighed. “What should we tell him” She muttered.

“The truth,” Azari replied immediately.

“Ease up, we can’t just lay it all out,” Francis argued.

“Why not,” Azari challenged. Francis shook his head and exhaled loudly.

“After we tell him why we’re here,” Jamie said, “ we should tell Vision to run like hell. Then find Strange.”

“The reason Thanos possessed the Mind Stone was because Vision ran. He was all alone,” Torrun said.

“So we tell him,” Jamie paused, then frowned.

“What’s wrong,” Pym asked.

“How many stones can we take from Thanos,” Jamie mused, rubbing her chin.

“I’m sorry, but what stones are you talking about,” Peter asked, sitting next to Jamie.

“There are these infinity stones, they are stupidly powerful. Thanos has something called the infinity gauntlet-”

“Naturally, what else would you call it,” Peter scoffed.

Jamie smiled. “He’s a dramatic SOB. Anyway, Thanos wielded all six of the stones to destroy the Earth. It didn’t work the first time,” Jamie trailed off and looked at friends.

“Vision has the mind stone,” May held up her index finger. “We know Thanos doesn’t have one of the stones yet.”

“Strange has the time stone, it’s how we got here,” Pym added.

May put up her middle finger. “That’s two.”

“The power stone is on Nova,” Azari said.

“So he has that one already,” Jamie translated.

May wiggled her three remaining fingers.

“That leaves three unaccounted for.”

“Not exactly,” Torrun shifted on her feet. “I know where the sixth infinity stone is.”

Everyone, even Peter, leaned forward. Torrun looked uncomfortable.

“My father told me it’s location when I was younger. Though I do not know how Thanos stole the stone the first time.”

“Don’t keep us in suspense, where is it,” Francis said impatiently.

“Heimdall,” Torrun said quietly.

“Heimdall? Does he know where it is?”

Torrun shook her head.

“Heimdall is the sixth infinity stone, or he draws his power from it,” Azari said, watching Torrun.

She sighed then nodded. “His ability to be all seeing is because of the Soul Stone.”

Jamie thought over what Torrun had just revealed.

“Why didn’t you say this before,” May barked. Torrun glared at her.

“My Father made me swear not to speak of it until it became necessary.”

“Following Daddy’s orders,” May scoffed and walked over to Torrun. “What else are you hiding?"

“Are you calling me false,” Torrun snapped.

“I don’t believe that Thor didn’t make you promise not to saying anything else.”

“I have not lied about anything, I have said all that I know!”

“Now you _are_ lying,” May towered over Torrun and glared down at her.

“No one calls me a liar,” Torrun snarled.

Francis quickly backed away, not wanting to be caught in the middle, and dragged Pym along with him. Azari tried to pull Jamie back but she brushed him off and forced her way between the two woman.

“Stop it,” She ordered. She put a hand on each woman’s chest, gently pushing them back.

“Torrun, you should’ve told us sooner. But now we know, nothing can change that. May,” Jamie faced the taller woman. “Torrun has told us what she knows. So now we need to move on and figure out our next move.”

The two glared at each other for a few tense seconds. Then Torrun grunted and deflated.

“Agreed,” She stuck a hand out to May. May stared at the hand, sniffed loudly, and shook it.

“You have some serious balls girl,” A voice chuckled.

Jamie’s heart stopped as she turned around. Leaning against the doorway with a pad in his hand as Tony Stark.

“Those two looked as pissed as Pepper is when I forget to go to a board meeting. It takes major cojones to get between that look.”

“I-Tony,” Jamie tried to talk through the lump in her throat.

Tony strode into the room. “Hi Peter.”

“Uh,” Peter said intelligently.

“Imagine my surprise when a group of kids-”

“Not a kid,” Pym said instinctively, then kicked himself.

“Of course not,” Tony chuckled. “Anyway, I was pretty surprised when Happy barged into my workshop growling like a rabid honey badger about a group of teenagers who were from Wakanda. As any self-respecting paranoid bastard would do, I hacked into Wakanda’s private airway for the King and asked him if any envoy was sent.” Tony pressed a button and a hollow screen activated. Jamie was staring at the unamused face of King T’Challa.

“Sir,” Jamie bowed, grimacing.

“Are they yours,” Tony asked.

“Not exactly,” T’Challa hedged.

Tony looked sharply at the Wakandan Monarch. ‘Exactly?

” “That’s what we wanted to talk to you about,” Jamie said, finally working around the lump stuck in her throat.

“Mr.Stark-"

“Tony,” He corrected.

T’Challa looked at Jamie and smirked. “Mr.Stark, I assure you that what they have to say is of utmost importance.”

“Sure thing Mufasa,” Tony looked at the king. “Til next time.”

T’Challa nodded and the video cut off. Tony looked at Jamie with a raised brow. “A glowing recommendation from the King of Wakanda, this has got to be good.”

“You have no idea,” Jamie said. “Can we say it in front of Viz and Rhodey?”

Tony squinted at Jamie. “You sound like you know them.”

Jamie winced, mentally kicking herself. _They don’t know you yet. They’re not Uncle Viz and Uncle Rhodey. Get it together!_

“I do, or I did.”

Tony looked at her expectantly.

“I’ll tell you everything, I promise.”

“Why should I trust you,” Tony asked.

Jamie grimaced. The suspicion in his voice cut at her heart. He sounded like he had said that too many times. She took a deep breath.

“I know you have no reason to trust me, not yet, but I trust you,” Jamie looked into his eyes.

“You haven’t had the best luck with friends and trust.”

“That’s an understatement,” Francis scoffed under his breath.

“But please just hear me out,” Jamie pleaded. Tony was confused, Jamie could see several emotions swirling in his eyes.

“Mr.Stark,” Peter spoke up. “I think you should listen to them.”

Tony turned to Peter. “You trust them?”

Peter looked at Jamie. “Yes.”

Tony clenched his jaw then nodded sharply. “Alright, I’ll get the others.”

Jamie tried to remain impassive to the painful squeeze in her heart at Tony trusting Peter over her. _I’m just a stranger. He’s known Peter longer. I’m nothing to him, at least nothing yet. I’m just a stranger._ She watched him go. When the door closed Jamie blinked back several sudden tears.

“It’s alright,” Azari whispered.

Jamie shook her head. “It’s not. We have to make sure he believes us. If he doesn’t, we’re doomed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta-Da! The spoilers from last chapter will apply to the next chapter since this one wanted to be stubborn. Grr. Hope you like it <3.


	6. Chapter 6

**Crawl on my belly til the sun goes down**

**I'll never wear your broken crown**

**I took the rope and I fucked it all the way**

**In this twilight, how dare you speak of grace.**

**Mumford and Sons "Broken Crown" __**

Jamie, for the third time that day, walked down the halls of her home. It was hard, harder than she ever imagined, seeing the pristine walls and glass without all of Tony’s insane child proofing. Or the blast marks and bullet holes. Happy led them into a small beige office. Francis’s nose immediately crinkled.

“It’s a beige fall out shelter in here.”

A voice laughed. “Right? I keep trying to tell Tony this paint job sucks.”

Jamie noticed the man sitting in one of the leather beige chairs. Her eyes were drawn to his warm brown eyes, smile lines, kind smile then to the mechanical braces encasing his legs.

“Rhodey?”

His eyes hardened slightly. “You know my name?”

Jamie choked back an ugly laugh. “Yes.”

The warmth in his eyes vanished and Jamie was reminded of when Retired Colonel James Rhodes ran the workshop turned war room in the compound, directing superhero teams, creating damage reports and keeping track of loses and wins. Rhodey sat back and observed Jamie with cold detachment. Jamie stared back at him, not backing down. The sound of heels clacking purposefully against the tile broke their stare down. Pepper Potts pushed the door open and ushered Tony in. Vision materialized through the door moments later.

“These are the kids I was telling you about,” Tony pointed to Jamie.

“And him?” Rhodey nodded towards Peter.

“I’m with them,” Peter waved at Rhodey. ‘Hi Colonel Rhodes!”

Tony snorted. Rhodey glared at him then smiled at Peter. “Hey Spidey.”

Pepper cleared her throat. “So, you had something to say to us?”

Jamie glanched at Vision, who was in the corner watching the scene unfold in front of him, then looked directly at Tony.

‘Well, you see...”

The four adults remained silent as Jamie told them their story. When she had finished, Tony turned to Peter.

“You actually believe them?”

“I know it sounds pretty crazy, but-”

“It’s insane,” Rhodey yelled. “This has to be some crazy scheme of Rogers to get to you!”

“No,” Jamie said immediately. “We aren’t connected to him. Or Wakanda.”

“You just said you were his daughter!”

“Why should we trust you,” Tony said, staring at Jamie.

“He told me what happened,” she said quietly. “He told me what happened in Siberia. What happened at the airport.”

The four adults stiffened.

“What did he tell you,” Rhodey asked tersely.

“He said it was what had to be done,” Jamie said bitterly.

Pepper sighed and tapped a pen against the glass desk. “Of course he did.”

“Assuming, just for the hell of it, that what you said is true,” Tony said, “why not just find Thanos and kill him yourself?”

“Thanos has an army,” Torrun explained. “It will take an army of our own to defeat him.”

“And you think we,” Rhodey motioned to Tony and Vision, “will be enough to end him?”

“There are others,” May said. “The fantastic four-”

Tony made a face.

“The x-men-”

Tony made another face.

“Strange and the Guardians-”

“The who,” Rhodey asked.

“Strange is a sorcerer,” Pym said.

Tony made a gagging sound. “Magic and me don’t mix.”

Rhodey snorted. “That’s an understatement.”

“And the guardians are a team from outer space,” Azari told the adults.

“Space,” Tony said slowly.

“There’s a talking raccoon named Rocket,” Pym offered.

Tony blinked at him. “What?”

“We just need you to take us to Strange and it will all make sense,” Jamie cut in.

“What can a person named Strange do,” Rhodey asked doubtfully.

“He’s the reason we’re here,” May explained.

“You have no proof,” Pepper argued.

Azari sighed and ran a hand through his curly hair.

“I don’t know how we can convince you that we’re telling the truth,” Jamie admitted. “Tell you the truth, I wouldn’t believe us.” Jamie straightened her back and looked each adult in the eye. “But we’ve lost too much and come too damn far to turn back now.”

Rhodey and Tony looked at each other. Tony opened his mouth but was cut off when Happy burst into the room.

“Is there another group of time traveling teenagers,” Tony asked sarcastically.

Happy shook his head frantically. “It’s them, it’s-”

**Boss, there is unauthorized movement in the east corner of the compound.**

“That’s where our plane is,” Azari frowned.

**A blocked key was just used Boss.**

Friday sounded angry, and- Jamie realized with a jolt- frightened. _What could make Friday sound like that?_ The color from Tony’s face drained. Rhodey cursed and sprang to his feet. Vision’s stone glowed angrily.

**They’re here Boss, they’re in the building!**

Tony and Vision raced out of the room.

“What’s happening?”

Rhodey caught Jamie’s arm and spun her to face him. “Rogers and his group are in the building.”

Jamie’s eyes widened then she cursed.

“Stay here,” Rhodey ordered.

Jamie chased after him.

"What did I say,” He barked.

“We’re coming,” Jamie said firmly.

“Roger’s your dad!”

“I am not my father, just like Tony isn’t like his.”

Rhodey looked at her as if seeing her for the first time. “That’s how it is?”

“That’s how it is.”

“Well then,” Rhodey grinned, “let’s give those bastards a warm welcome.”

Jamie smiled back. Rhodey led them through corridors with the insistent guidance of Friday. He broke off to put on his modified War Machine armor.

**Go straight then take a left. As the group approached, they could hear shouting.**

“Friday, how many are out there,” Azari asked, the blue in his suit flashing a vibrant neon.

**Steve Rogers, Scott Lang, Wanda Maximoff, Clint Barton, and Sam Wilson.**

Jamie swore under her breath. _Just when we were getting somewhere. Go fucking figure._

**Miss Rogers?**

Jamie looked at the ceiling.

**Keep Boss safe.**

Jamie smiled. “I will. We both will.” _All you ever wanted to do was keep him safe. I won’t let you go through that again, I swear. You can trust me._

Friday seemed to sense Jamie’s thoughts because the door swung open with a loud bang. **They’re outside.**

The group raced to the grass pavilion. Peter was swinging along the ceiling and Pym was flying along beside him. Friday opened the last door and they burst into the scene. Tony, Rhodey, and Vision were standing in front of the door. The rogue avengers were standing a few feet across from them.

“Tony, just listen to me. _Please_ ,” Steve was asking.

“What the hell is wrong with you,” Jamie yelled, storming towards them.

“Jamie, it’s okay. Whatever he’s said to you-”

“Are you stupid or deaf,” She yelled.

Tony let out a sharp bark of laughter. Steve looked offended, his brow creasing and his mouth forming a line.

“How did you find us,” May glared at others, crossing her arms.

Scott waved his hand. “I snuck into the plane while you were fighting Clint and Wanda.”

“What are you doing here Rogers,” Rhodey said coldly.

“I want to help. She,” Steve pointed to Jamie, “needs my help.”

“I do,” Jamie said surprised. “I was doing just fine before you showed up.”

‘And I thought I had daddy issues,” Tony whistled.

“You do need my help Jamie. You’re just a kid, you don’t understand what the accords mean,” Steve said earnestly.

Pym sighed. “Here we go.”

Jamie’s eye twitched. “I’m just a kid?”

“Just like Wanda, you don’t-”

“Just like Wanda,” Jamie repeated, sounding eerily calm.

May smiled. “This is going to be good.”

Steve finally seemed to realize Jamie was acting abnormally calm.

“Jamie?”

“Wanda is twenty six. I’m twenty. Neither of us are kids and we both own up to our _mistakes_.”

“Mistakes,” Wanda yelled, her hands glowed red.

“Lagos,” Jamie replied.  _That was a low blow, but Wanda's face more than makes up for it. She isn't infallible. None of them are._

Wanda’s eyes went wide and her hands immediately stopped glowing.

“How much did you train? Were you prepared for combat,” Jamie persisted.

Wanda looked at Steve, her lip was trembling.

“She wasn’t,” Rhodey sighed and shook his head.

‘Rogers,” Azari said with authority, “just come with us. Don’t make a scene. We will discuss this later.”

“We will talk now,” Steve argued.

“Captain Rogers, desist from this foolishness. Let’s discuss this calmly and without further injury,” Torrun urged, putting her hands up.

“Back up,” Clint threatened, raising his bow.

Torrun stopped and narrowed her eyes. “I beg your pardon?”

Tony and Rhodey raised their gauntlets, the familiar whirring of machinery filled the air.

“Steve, think this through. There are civilians here,” Jamie tried to explain.

“Like he cares,” Rhodey scoffed.

Steve’s eyes darkened and his jaw clenched. “Look, James-”

“It’s Colonel Rhodes to you Rogers.”

“Colonel Rhodes, I know that it’s been hard-”

Rhodey fired a shot than hit the ground in front of Steve’s feet. He jumped back. “Hard,” Rhodey snarled. “You cost me my legs-” Vision and Sam flinched.”- and almost murdered my brother!”

Steve didn’t reply. Instead, he turned to Jamie. She vehemently shook her head.

“I agree with him.”

Steve’s shoulders sagged. “I tried.” He turned to Clint and nodded.

“Francis-”

Before Jamie could finish, Clint released an arrow. It exploded between Tony and Rhodey, sending them flying back into the concrete wall. Francis cursed and fired at his father. Clint jerked out of the way and had barely enough time to raise his bow before Francis was firing at him again. Vision immediately went after Wanda with Azari by his side. Pym shrunk down along with him father. Jamie could see them fighting by the tufts of grass flying up and sticks being thrown. Torrun ran over to help Francis and began slashing at Clint with wide arching swipes.

“Tony,” Jamie yelled. She tried to run to him but Steve stepped in front of her.

“Jamie,” He reached out a hand.

Jamie heard a roar then ducked. She-Hulk shot over her and tackled Rogers. There wasn’t as distinct a difference between May and She-Hulk as there was between Bruce and Hulk. She-Hulk was bulkier and didn’t control her emotions like May did. She-Hulk raised a fist to punch Steve but a blur of red and grey knocked her off and sent her rolling. She-Hulk quickly got to her feet, panting and snarling. Sam stood in front of her.

“That was for hitting me with a plane,” He taunted.

She-Hulk grinned savagely and lunged at him.

“Shit!” He flew into the air.

She-Hulk ran after him. She jumped at him like a cat trying to catch a low flying bird. Jamie returned her attention to her father. They circled each other like a pair of wild animals.

“You don’t know what you're doing.”

Jamie laughed. “I know too well what I’m doing. I’m trying to _save_ the world Steve. Must you be so arrogant that you have to be a part of it?”

“I am _not_ arrogant.”

“No, just prideful.”

Steve opened his mouth to argue but Jamie cut him off.

“Tell me, do you really think things wouldn’t have been better if you had just listened and not let your pride rule your actions?”

“We all made mistakes.”

“Clearly,” Jamie stopped moving. She tensed her leg muscles in preparation to leap at her father. “I made the mistake of trusting you.”

With that, she catapulted herself at Steve. Surprised, Steve stumbled back. He deflected Jamie’s blow by pushing her with his shoulder. Jamie rolled and landed on her feet.

“Stop! I don’t want to fight you,” Steve took a step back.

“Well, I’ve been waiting years to fight you,” Jamie retorted.

She reached back and yanked the shield off it’s clips with a loud ‘click’. Steve’s face drained of color when he saw the red, white and blue. Jamie swung at her father with the intent of ending the fight quickly. _I don’t have time for this!_ Jamie threw her shield high so that Steve would duck then crouched low and swung her foot out, swiping Steve’s feet out from under him. He fell to the ground with a grunt. Jamie tried to jump over him but his hand shot out and grabbed her ankle. She fell, legs across his torso, and dropped her shield. Jamie acted on instinct, she drove her knees into the soft parts of Steve’s stomach. Steve let go of her and covered his stomach. Jamie rolled off his body, stood up, and sprinted towards the hole Tony and Rhodey created.

“Jamie, duck!” Someone- _Azari?-_ yelled.

Jamie bent at the waist but kept running. Something hit the back of her legs and she fell to the ground head first. Jamie quickly got up, ignoring the throb in her head and cursed to herself. Someone grabbed her shoulder and threw her back onto the ground.

“Shit,” She grunted when her head slammed against the packed earth. Jamie squinted up, the sun turning the world white, and saw the outline of a man.

“Stay down,” Steve ordered.

Jamie staggered to her feet, slowly raising her hands.

“I have to make sure they’re okay.” Steve spared a glance back at the building then focused on Jamie.

“They'll pull through,” He said dismissively. Jamie barked out a laugh then winced when her head throbbed.

“You left him to die in Siberia. Of course you’ll think he’s fine.”

Steve’s eyebrows came together in confusion. “What? I didn’t leave him to die. That's not-"

“You know,” Jamie stepped forward.

“That’s something I always wanted to ask you.”

Steve regarded her warily but didn’t step back. She took another step forward.

“Did you mean to leave him there in the cold? Did you want him to die alone or was bucky just more important,” Jamie’s watered as she remembered Tony telling her what happened in that bunker.

“Wouldn’t you save your best friend,” Steve whispered. His eyes were wide and scared.

Her mind flashed to Azari. _I would save him, but my other friends matter too. They're my family, more than you ever were._  Jamie stepped closer. “I wouldn’t betray my other friends to do it.”

Jamie was within arms reach of her father. One more step would do it.

“He’s innocent, they’re wrong about him,” Steve said in a tone like he was expecting Jamie to argue.

“I know he is,” Jamie took the final step. “But running didn’t help.”

Jamie pulled her arm back and gave Steve the hardest upper cut she could manage. He crumbled to the ground. Jamie grabbed the shield, put it on her back, and resumed her sprint to Tony and Rhodey. When she reached them, Tony was helping Rhodey out of the rubble. Jamie could hear Rhodey cursing from several feet away. It made her smile.

“I punch him so hard he’ll go back to the god damn forties. I don’t care if my leg braces aren’t working _Tony_ , I will. Even if I have to beat him with a brace I will.”

“Mind if i give you hand,” Jamie smiled at the two men. They looked at each other then at Jamie.

“So, what were you saying about aliens,” Rhodey grinned back.

Jamie looked to Tony. “Do you believe me?”

“I’m closer than I was before,” He allowed.

“What are we going to do about them,” Rhodey motioned towards the rogue avengers.

Jamie scanned the area. Her eyes focused on She-Hulk, who was using a motorcycle to swat at Sam.

“I have an idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that everyone is in New York again, what will happen? Will they be able to work together for the good of the world or will the New Avenger's quest be over before it can begin? And where's Bucky? (Hint: he isn't in Wakanda anymore). On another note, I have no idea how long this story is going to be but I have written a rough draft of the ending. And let me tell you, it's a doozy. See you next time! <3


	7. Chapter 7

**“We are not alone and we are more alone than we've ever been**

**So hurry up and lose me**

**Hurry up and find me, again”**

**-Laura Gibson “Empire Builder”**

Jamie, after checking to make sure Rhodey and Tony were okay, ran over to She-Hulk.

Jamie cupped her hands and called. “She-Hulk!”

She stopped, lowering the motorcycle slightly, and glared at Jamie.

“I need to talk to May.”

She-Hulk stared at Jamie, as if weighing her options. She sighed and threw the motorcycle at Sam. Jamie waited as She-Hulk changed back into May. The red hue faded from her eyes and she shrank back to her normal size.

“Jamie?”

“Hey, feelin’ alright?” Jamie put a hand on her arm.

May inhaled and nodded shakily. “I’m here. What do you need?”

“Up for a little intimidation?”

“It’s what I do best,” May said with a strained smile.

Jamie stopped. “May, that’s not-”

“I know,” May interrupted her. She clenched her jaw. “It’s just been a long day.”

Jamie didn’t say anything. She simply nodded and led May to her father. He was still on the ground.

“How hard did you hit him,” May asked as she bent down to check his pulse.

“Hard enough, apparently,” Jamie looked down at him.

“I’ll say,” May straightened up. “So I’m guessing you don’t want me to intimidate the man on the ground.”

“Your powers of observation astound me,” Jamie quipped. “I want you to make it seem like we have him hostage.”

“So the others will stop fighting,” May finished. She looked at Rogers and nudged his shoulder. “You think they’ll stop for him?”

“They went to war for him.”

“That doesn’t always mean loyalty,” May pointed out but stooped to grab Steve. She threw him over her shoulder. “Ready?”

Jamie nodded then said as loud as she could: “Stop fighting, we have Steve. It’s over!”

The effect was instantaneous. Everyone froze like a paused video. May shook Steve like a rag doll and roared for added effect.

Torrun was the first to catch on. “Lay down your weapons,” She yelled.

They all hesitated, staring at Steve’s unconscious body. Sam landed on the ground, folded up his mechanical wings, and mockingly put his hands over his head. Torrun walked to Jamie.

“Gonna cuff me,” He asked angrily.

“Don’t tempt me,” Torrun snapped as she passed him.

Vision vanished then reappeared quickly holding handcuffs. He gave them to Azari and Francis. Clint cursed, angrily threw down his bow, then spat on the ground.

“You’re no better than he is,” Clint snarled at Jamie.

Francis jerked his father’s arms back and roughly cuffed his hands. Azari methodically put the handcuffs on Sam and Wanda. He tossed Pym a pair when he and Scott returned to their normal size. He gave the last pair to Jamie. She closed them around Steve’s wrist tight enough that they would be uncomfortable. Rhodey walked up beside Jamie, his metal suit clinking as he stepped.

“Friday’s quarantined off a section of the compound. We can keep them there until we figure out what the hell to do with them,” He sighed.

“A section away from Tony,” Jamie asked, glaring at Steve.

Rhodey and her shared a look. A look of mutual understanding. They wouldn’t let Tony be hurt by the rogue avengers again. He nodded. Rhodey pushed Clint and Scott out in front of him.

“Move,” He ordered.

Vision led Wanda and Sam into the compound. Vision refused to meet Wanda’s eyes or listen to her reasonings. Jamie empathized with him. _Thinking you know someone, only for them to turn around and stab you in the back. Don’t worry Vision, it’ll get better. I promise._ May left Jamie standing in the pavilion. She put Steve on the ground and waited for medics to take him away. The fight washed out of Jamie as quickly as it had appeared. She swayed on her feet. The dull ache in her head became an insistent throb.

“That went well,” Peter muttered. He was standing beside Jamie, arms crossed, chest rising and falling rapidly.

“It could’ve gone better,” Jamie agreed.

“I think Mr.Stark believes you, now.”

Jamie lips quirked up at the sides. “You should call him Tony, Mr. Stark makes him feel old.”

She heard Peter snort. “That’s what he told me.”

Peter hesitated the way people do when they want to ask a question but don’t know how to phrase it.

“What,” Jamie asked. She was too drained to be tactful.

“Did-Did I make the right decision?”

Jamie turned to look at him. Even under the mask, she could see his brows pulled together in worry. “About what?”

“About not joining? I mean, when he asked me to be a part of the avengers....”

Jamie sighed and pushed her blonde hair out of her eyes. “You need time to be a kid Peter. Being an avenger is life consuming, it’s all that you are. And Tony,” She met his eyes. “He’s proud of you Peter, no matter what. Screw what anyone else thinks.”

Peter grinned and rubbed the back of his neck. “Thanks. But it feels weird hearing you say that.”

“Why?” Jamie bent to pick up her shield.

“You aren’t much older than me, are you?

” “Not by much,” Jamie said, laughing. “Right now, I’m not even an apple in my parent’s eye.”

“Who's your mom,” Peter blurted out, then immediately slapped a hand over his mouth. “Oh shit, I’m so sorry. I know how annoying it is when people ask that. I can’t believe I just-”

“Peter,” Jamie interrupted before he could work himself into a fit. “It’s fine, really. My mom died when I was a baby on a mission so I never really knew her.”

“What was her name,” Peter asked softly, understandingly.

“Sharon Carter. She died on a shield mission. There wasn’t any love lost between my parents but he still missed her in the end.”

“Don’t really miss someone until they’re gone,” Peter said sadly.

Jamie reached out to him, drawing the boy closer into a hug. They stayed in an embrace for a few minutes.

“It must be a requirement for being a superhero. At least one parent has to be dead,” Jamie joked, trying to make Peter smile.

He laughed quietly. “Must be.”

“Jamie, Peter, quite reenacting Titanic. Let’s go,” Francis called.

“I hate him,” Jamie grumbled as she and Peter separated.

“Jack, never let me go Jack,” Jamie yelled.

“I’m letting you go Rose,” Francis yelled back.

Peter laughed loudly, clutching his stomach.

“Asshole,” Jamie complained with a smile. Jamie walked over to Azari who immediately grabbed her arm and dragged her away.

“I’ll come willingly you know, I’m not Torrun,” Jamie protested.

Azari relented his grip but didn’t let go of her arm. Her skin tingled where his fingers rested against her arm. _Must be his lightning. Must be that, why else would i feel tingly? No other reason at all._ Jamie felt her face flush. _Okay, I can’t even convince myself._

“How are they,” Jamie asked, desperately trying to ignore her feelings.

“Enraged, indignant, irate-”

“So, really pissed,” Jamie smiled.

“Really _really_ pissed. Clint tried to punch Vision.”

“I bet that went well,” Jamie said as they entered a lab.

May had medical supplies set up on a table around various blueprints and models. She pointedly looked at Azari holding Jamie’s arm then at Jamie. _Please, on everything holy, do not say anything_ Jamie silently pleaded. May smirked and went back to checking Pym for injury. Azari gently pushed Jamie onto a chair and rummaged through a med pack.

“You’re not even a real medical doctor, why do we keep coming to you for helped,” Jamie asked May as she none too gently wrapped Pym’s index and middle finger in gauze.

“True, I have a PhD in Gamma research and another in Particle Physics, and yet I’m wrapping up _fingers_ ,” She gave Pym’s two digits one final tug.

“Ouch! Just because you're mad doesn’t mean you can hurt my fingers,” Pym pouted, holding his hand close to his chest.

“Oh sweet summer child,” May cooed. Her hand shot out in a blur of green and poked Pym’s forehead. He yelped and leaned away as far as he could. Azari shook his head, smiling, and returned to Jamie.

“Let me see,” He said, lowering his voice as he leaned towards Jamie.

Jamie _obeyed,_ turning her head so he could see where she was bleeding. Her eyes drifted towards Torrun and Francis. Francis was nearly sitting on Torrun as he put bandaids on her arm. Torrun was watching him from under her unruly hair. Their eyes met and they both laughed softly. Torrun blushed and bit her lip. Francis grinned widely then pressed his lips against Torrun’s forehead. Jamie averted her eyes, staring straight ahead at the wall. Even though it was a chaste kiss, it still felt like she was intruding on a private moment. _I am so talking to them after this, May owes me twenty bucks!_ Jamie caught Azari looking at Torunn and Francis as well. 

“Azari,” She began. He hummed questioningly, gently applying butterfly bandages to Jamie’s temple.

“Do you ever feel like we missed something?”

Azari stopped. “We....as in the team? Or we as in,” He trailed off.

“We as in us,” Jamie said quietly. She was still staring straight ahead, too scared to see Azari’s expression. _What if he’s disgusted? What if he doesn't think of me that way? Why would he? What if, what if, what if-_

Azari placed a hand on Jamie’s, immediately stopping her train of thought. “Yes,” He answered in the same low tone Jamie used.

“Why didn’t we ever do something?”

 _If I talk too loud, it might break whatever it is that’s happening.....I don’t want it to end._ Azari chuckled. _Why does he sound sad? Is he sad that he will have to shoot me down? I guess I have to make plans to move to fucking Asgard after this is all over. At Least that place has wifi._

“I don’t know why. I wish I did.”

Jamie placed her other hand atop Azari’s.

“I don’t want to start something now,” she said before her mind could catch up. _The fuck did I just say?_ “I wanna have something real,” Jamie rushed out before Azari could pull his hands away.

“Real?”

“I don’t want the only reason we’re together to be because the world is going to hell in a hand basket.”

“After then?” Jamie smiled at his optimism. Usually, she’d have to be the one to say something optimistic.

“After all this, when it’s all over, want to get a drink some time?”

Azari laughed, brought Jamie’s hand to his mouth, and pressed his lips against her skin. She felt a tingle go through her as sudden and as sharp as lighting.

“I can’t wait.”

“Hey Jamie!” Jamie’s head shot up. Azari discretely removed his hands from Jamie’s and stepped away. Rhodey was leaning in the doorway.

“Rogers is awake and he’s asking for you.”

Jamie groaned.

“Do you want me to come with,” Azari asked, standing closer to Jamie.

“No, I’ll talk to him.”

As Rhodey and Jamie walked down familiar hallways, Jamie studied his profile. _At least he looks healthy, even with those prototype braces. Rhodey always said his first pair of braces hurt like a son of a bitch. Maybe I can tell Tony and he can make Rhodey another pair._

“See something you like,” Rhodey joked after Jamie spent too long looking at him.

She smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, it’s just I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Right, you’re from the future. What’s it like?”

“We’ve had two women presidents, if you’re really rich you can get a flying car, and movies are all in 3-D,” Jamie summarized.

“Well I’ll be damned, the future sounds great.”

“It has it’s ups and downs.”

Rhodey laughed. “Spoken like a true diplomat.”

After a beat he added: “You know, I saw the way you were looking at us.”

Jamie raised an eyebrow. “How was I looking at you?”

“Like you were seeing ghosts.”

Jamie stopped mid-step, her heart beat crashing in her ears. Rhodey approached her slowly like one would approach a frightened animal. 

“I’ve seen that look before,” Rhodey continued. “On soldiers. When you can’t believe what you’re seeing to be real. I’ve even seen Tony look like that on a really bad day. It might not be the same, but no twenty year old kid should have that look.”

“I am seeing ghosts,” Jamie croaked.

“Don’t let yourself think like that,” Rhodey said sharply. “I’ve been down that road. When I first found out I was paralyzed I was in a dark spot. I tried to shut people out. I didn’t want them to see me weak. But unfortunately, I’m friends with an annoying little shit named Anthony Stark.”

Jamie laughed loudly and suddenly. She muttered an apology when a passing assistant glared at her. Rhodey smiled at her.

“I even went as far as to physically lock him out of my room. But he hacked into my lock and forced me to act like a human being. Jamie, what I’m trying to say is this: don’t shut yourself out. I know you’re from the future on some crazy ass mission to save the planet but don’t forget you have friends to help you.  We're still here.”

“I won’t, and Rhodey?”

“Yeah?” Jamie threw her arms around him, squeezing the man tightly. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“No problem,” He said thickly.

Jamie politely ignored the tears in his voice.

“So, Steve wants to talk to me?”

Rhodey pulled away, tried to hide a sniff behind his hand, then nodded. “We had to handcuff him to the bed.”

“Had to?” Jamie raised a knowing eyebrow.

Rhodey suppressed a smile. “That’s our story anyway.”

Jamie groaned loudly. “I guess I have to talk to him eventually.”

They resumed walking towards Steve’s room.

“I can’t imagine what it’s like having Steve Rogers as a father.”

“It wasn’t easy. He was alright but I don’t think he ever really realized kids can have different opinions from their parents,” Jamie snorted as she remembered the many arguments she and Steve had gotten into over political issues. The accords had always been a heated subject.

“Kids don’t follow their parents’ plans for them,” Rhodey agreed.

“For better or worse.”

The pair stopped in front of a blue door with the number five printed on it.

‘Why haven’t you asked,” Jamie asked as Rhodey put his hand on the door handle.

“Asked about what?”

“About your own future. Aren’t you curious?”

“I am, but I want to find my future for myself, if that makes any sense. But if it’s worth anything, I can’t wait to meet you again.” Jamie smiled.

“I look forward to meeting you again too. You were my hero growing up you know.”

Rhodey blinked in surprise. “I was?”

Jamie nodded vigorously. “Totally, you’re a fucking rocket scientist Rhodey. I could only hope of getting into MIT, but you did and you crushed it. You’re War machine! I wanted to be like you so bad when I was little.”

Jamie could see Rhodey blush and smile with embarrassment. “It’s not _that_ cool..”

“Uh, it is that cool! I remember how mad Steve was when I told him I wasn’t named after Bucky, I was named after you.”

“You are named after me?”

“I like to think that I am.”

Rhodey grinned, he looked years younger. _That’s how you should look Rhodey. You should be happy._ “You’re a good kid,” He said.

Jamie shrugged, grinning shyly. “I’m just being honest.”

Rhodey’s smile dimmed slightly. The lines on his face became more pronounced. “How can you be related Rogers.”

Jamie shook her head with a sigh. “I’ve asked myself that too many times.” She paused at the door and rolled her shoulders, standing straighter. “I’ll talk to him, alone. I won’t run. Nobody can run from family, can they,” She looked at Rhodey.

“No,” He agreed. “But you can chose a new one. And from what I’ve seen, you’ve done that."

Jamie smiled gratefully at him then turned and walked to her father’s door. She hesitated briefly at the entrance, took a deep breath, and pushed the door open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I looovvveeee Rhodey. He's one of my favorite marvel characters. In my opinion, that man needs his own movie. Expect to see him a lot more in this story. And yes, I did end up making Sharon Jamie's mom. It was either her or some random OC woman. I'll explain Sharon and Steve later in the story I promise. Does anyone know where Bucky is right now? Wakanda's looking for him......


	8. Chapter 8

**Stick, stick to your stones cause that's all you know**

**I was caught in the middle**

**I swallow my words down to the bone**

**Cause nothing's that simple**

**Lauv-“The Story Never Ends”**

Steve was awake and sitting up in his hospital bed. There was an ugly bruise blooming on his chin. Jamie’s dark satisfaction morphed into guilt when he looked at her. 

“Steve.”

“Jamie.”

Jamie walked over to the bed. She leaned against the railing at the bottom. 

“You said you wanted to talk to me?”

Steve looked at her with a grim expression.

“You fought with him.”

Jamie sighed and ran a hand through her hair.  _ So this is how it’s going to go. _

“I stood with him but I didn’t want to fight.”

Steve snorted. “Didn’t seem like it when you gave me an upper cut,”

Jamie glared at her father. “Remind me, who fired the first shot?”

Steve clenched his jaw and looked away. 

Jamie put her hands up slightly as a peace offering.

“Look, what’s done is done. You’re back. Promise me you won’t try to  _ help  _ and let us do our job.”

“I can’t promise that. You need my help Jamie.”

“It may come as a shock to you, but not everyone in the world wants Captain America’s help.”

“But people need it,” Steve leaned towards Jamie, pulling at the handcuffs chaining him to the bed.

“That doesn’t mean they want it! The people in Lagos didn’t want your help.”

“But Hydra-”

“You went in without authorization Steve, you decided they needed your help and you went in.”

“I shouldn’t need authorization to help people,” Steve’s voice rose in volume as he talked. 

“How many people died because of your help,” Jamie yelled, matching her father’s rising voice.

“It was bad, I’ll admit that, but they were casualties! We had to top Crossbones.”

“Civilian casualties,” Jamie screamed. “You sent in someone who didn’t have full control of their abilities and shit went sideways like it always does!”

Jamie pushed away from the bed and began to pace around the room.

“Dammit Steve, it isn’t America and her allies against the Germans anymore. You and the others aren’t the sole crusaders of justice and liberty fighting against all evil. It isn’t how the world works anymore. It’s messy and ugly and believe it or not, not every country wants America’s help!”

“I will help whoever needs it, regardless of political agendas. Did I never teach you that?” Steve’s face began to redden as he shouted.

“You taught me everybody has an agenda Steve, that’s how the goddamn world works!”

“I did _ not _ have an agenda.”

“The entire reason you went against your own team was your agenda to help Bucky,” Jamie’s hands were clenched into white-knuckled fists. 

“If I had an agenda, it was to stand up  _ against  _ the accords. You never said what happened to them.”

“You did even read the damn accords, don’t act like the victim Steve. If anything, you’re the bully. You didn’t like what people were doing so you decided to throw a fit and pick a fight. Didn’t you listen to Tony?”

“I listened to him, how he wanted to put a gold star on every inhumans coat.”

“No,” Jamie stalked up to her father and jabbed her finger into his chest. “Don’t make this into your world war III. That’s not what this was about. People are scared Steve, a hundred and seventeen countries worth of people are scared. Tony wanted you to sign the accords then because they were pushed through later. And the version that was signed was a hundred times harsher than the one proposed to Tony.”

Steve didn’t say anything. He just glared at Jamie with cold blue eyes.

“If you had signed that version, you could’ve pushed for reform. It was just a damn draft. Thanks to your stunt in Lagos and Berlin, people went from scared to terrified. You acted outside of the law, Captain America raised a middle finger to the U.N. and did his own thing. Why didn’t you just talk to Tony and the others?”

“He wouldn’t understand, they all thought Bucky had blown up-”

“I mean before that Steve. Why didn’t you tell his about his parents, or about Bucky? He could’ve helped!”

“No he wouldn’t.”

“Yes he would’ve! Instead you didn’t trust him.”

“How could I trust him after Ultron?”

“Because one bad decision shouldn’t erase all the good he’s done.”

“Ultron was one bad decision?”

“First of all, it wasn’t just Tony that created Ultron. Bruce had a part too. And secondly, do you know why he created ultron? What finally pushed him?”

“No,” Steve looked at Jamie suspiciously. 

Jamie smiled bitterly. “Ask Wanda. She’ll tell you why.”

‘What’s that supposed to mean,” Steve glared at Jamie, ready to defend his team member. 

“Just ask her,” Jamie began to head to the door to leave.

“Wait,” Steve called. “You said another version of the accords were passed, a worse one?”

Jamie took a breath. “The accords that were passed wanted to put a chip into every inhuman and track their every movement.”   
“Don’t you see? That’s what I said would happen.”

“Bullshit,” Jamie snapped, whirling around to face her father. “You don’t give a rat’s ass about what happens to inhumans. All you care about is what happens to Bucky. Poor, dear, unfortunate Bucky. We, and I mean me and the other new heroes, fought hard against the accords. We didn’t blow shit up and destroy airports. We contacted every country that didn’t think superheros were a menace, which wasn’t many after what you lot did, and convinced them to back us. We worked with the system to show them we could be trusted. We got the accords to be rewritten, not you. We did, and it was all the harder thanks to what your civil war did,” Jamie added air quotes to ‘Civil War’.

Steve’s jaw twitched. “At least I didn’t send a kid into the field.”

Jamie threw up her hands in exasperation. “Are you fucking kidding me? You sound like a broken record Steve. Spider Man could’ve said no at any time, Tony would’ve let him go home. Would you let Wanda or any of your team go home?”

“They were ready!”

  
“Wanda obviously wasn’t! She needed proper training, and  _ counseling _ . Spider Man was kept away from the fight, only long distance fighting. And without knowing his abilities, you dropped a fucking semi truck on him.”

“He could handle it,” Steve said stubbornly.

“You found that out after you dropped it on him. If he didn’t have super strength and was squashed like a bug, would you even take the blame? Would you even feel bad?”

“Of course I would, you know I would,” Steve’s eyes widened like he couldn’t believe Jamie would even ask that question.

“No I don’t,” Jamie whispered. She turned and quickly walked out of the room, slamming the door behind her. 

Jamie fell against the door and put her head in her hands. 

“It went that well then,” Someone asked. 

Jamie looked up, tears of frustration prickling her eyes. May was looking down at Jamie with her hands on her hips. 

“Did he say anything useful?”

Jamie sighed and pushed herself off the wall.

“Not now May,  _ please _ . Just give me a few minutes.”

_ I just need to get myself together, it’ll take ten minutes at most. Just please leave me alone. _

“Give you a few minutes of self pity, sure, like that helps at all,” May followed Jamie as the other girl tried to walk away. 

“Sorry I’m normal and have emotions,” Jamie snapped, glaring at May. “I’m not some heartless robot  _ May _ .”

May stared at Jamie cooly, her face devoid of emotion. Jamie unclenched her fists, exhaled angrily, and glared at the ground.

“Sorry,” She huffed.

“Not your not,” May stated.

Jamie looked up at her sharply. 

“You needed someone to yell at, I was here. At least it wasn’t Pym, he probably would’ve cried.”

Jamie smiled slightly. “Probably.”

May leaned back and studied Jamie. “Rogers is the only person I’ve ever seen you loose your patience with, and you’re friends with the rest of us.”

Jamie started down the hallway, letting her feet carry her. “Family’ll do that to you.”

“Do you remember the first thing I said to you,” May asked suddenly as they walked side by side. 

Jamie looked sideways at May, frowning as she thought. “The very first thing I remember you saying to me was an hour long lecture on how much you hate authority.”

“Still do,” May grinned. “What did you say to me, after the team was put together.”

“What is this about May, is your precious memory finally slowing?”

“Just answer my question.”

“I told you I wasn’t planning on being SHIELD’s new lap dogs. But I wasn’t going to let the team become our parents. We weren’t going to be doomed from the start.”

May nodded, as if that’s what she wanted Jamie to say. “If you ever tell anyone else I said this, I’ll deny it to my dying breath, but you convinced me to be on your team.”

“I did?” Jamie stopped in shock. “I thought you hated me!”

  
“It was an act,” May shrugged. “Like what I was doing in Wakanda. I didn’t know how to be part of a team yet. As far as I knew, people on a team dropped you into a vat of gamma irradiated sewage.” 

“And now?” Jamie stopped in front of an elevator. 

“Now I know a team is family,” May pressed the button.

The elevator doors opened. Francis and Torrun sprang apart. Francis tried to frantically brush down his hair and Torrun straightened her shirt. 

“An incectous family,” May walked into the elevator. 

Jamie and May stood in between Francis and Torrun who were studiously not looking at anyone. 

Without a word, May took out a twenty dollar bill and handed it to Jamie. Jamie folded it and put it in her back pocket. She didn’t bother with asking May how she got the money. As the doors slide shut, May said: “We have the same bet for you and Azari.”

The three laughed, Francis and Torrun a little louder than necessary, when Jamie flushed red. 

///

“Tony no,” Rhodey said firmly.

“Tony yes,” Tony argued.

Jamie groaned and tried not to bang her head against the table. Everyone except the rogue avengers, were sitting in a spacious living room. Jamie, May, Francis, and Torrun had stepped off the elevator into Rhodey and Tony’s argument twenty minutes ago. They were still going strong.

“How long can they keep this up,” Pym asked through a mouth full of Captain Crunch. 

“Hours,” Pepper sighed, sipping from her martini she had gotten when Rhodey and Tony had started arguing. 

“What are they even arguing about,” Francis said petulantly. 

“Tony wants to talk to Strange. After he heard how we arrived here, Tony thinks Strange can be an ally,” Azari explained. He was leaning against the counter with a bored expression on his face.

“But Tony hates magic,” Torrun pointed out.

“Exactly,” Rhodey threw a hand out to gesture at Torrun. “Tony, you hate magic!”

“Platypus, did you miss the part where they said the world was about to end?”

“The world is always about to end.”

“This time is different,” May interjected before Tony could reply.

“Oh thank God,” Happy sighed and rubbed a hand over his face.  

Rhodey glared at May. She grinned back.

“Strange has one of the infinity stones, he needs to know what’s going on.”

Rhodey crossed his arms. “Do you even know where he is?”

“Tibet,” Jamie said. 

“See Rhodey, we have a location now! Let’s go!”

“Right now?” Jamie groaned, then kicked herself for sounding so tired.

Tony’s eyes softened as he looked at the new avengers. “Tomorrow morning. First thing, we’ll head off to Tibet.”

Jamie tried to nod as enthusiastically as she could, which wasn’t very much.

“I’ll show you to your rooms,” Pepper stood up and led the young adults away. 

“Peter,” Tony called. “Stay here for a sec, we need to talk.”

Peter waved goodbye and walked back to Tony. Jamie shuffled after Pepper, too exhausted to make small talk. Even the usually exuberant Pym was trudging along like a zombie. 

“Here’s your room Jamie,” She opened a door.

Jamie walked inside, making a sound that could’ve been either thank you or goodnight. She flopped onto the bed.  _ Sweet sweet relief... _ Jamie fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

///

_ Run! Run! We have to faster, they’re coming! We’re too late, it’s over. We’re gonna die here! Why why why did we have to listen to you? We’re gonna die! _

Jamie jerked awake with a gasp. Sweat made her hair stick to her neck. Jamie threw the blankets off her body and stood up. She blindly stumbled to the door and wrenched it open. The cold air of the hallway felt heavenly against her hot skin. Jamie walked down to the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of water and listened to the slight whir of machines in the building. 

**Miss Rogers, there’s a message from Wakanda. The king says it’s urgent.**

Jamie frowned. “Play it Friday.”

Jamie turned around, gasped, and dropped her glass of water. The glass shattered across the tile. 

**It’s T’Challa, Sergeant Barnes has escaped. We found his cryo tube empty and two guards unconscious. We think he is coming to you!**

The Winter Soldier stepped out of the shadows, glass crunched underneath his boot. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hhheerreee'sss Bucky! Sorry this was a short chapter, my week was crazy!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eheheheh.....hey guys......long time no see? In my defense, I had a football game, a huge test, and a dance all in the span of two days. Then I got hella sick. So I'm back now! I hope this chapter makes up for my absence <3 Also, there's a brief spoiler for how the Defenders ended. Skip the part when Francis talks about lawyers and you'll be good :)

**"Realized I'm living in hell when I was given the news**

**Why'd you let the evil win?**

**How'd you let him sell it to you?**

**I remember growing up mama used to sing me the blues**

**And now the kids are making noise just because it's something to do, to do, yeah**

**-The Neighborhood “Noise”**

**For Bucky**

“What the Hell,” Jamie whisper-yelled, conscious of the others sleeping.

 **Sergeant Barnes, remove yourself from this compound or I will contact the authorities**.

The Winter Soldier whipped around, his hands reaching for something at his thigh.

“Friday wait, I got this,” Jamie said quickly. The AI was silent, Jamie could practically hear her thinking.

**Boss will be safe.**

“Yes,” Jamie agreed.

**This bullshit again protocol has been cancelled.**

Jamie laughed in spite of the situation. _Leave it to Tony to call a protocol “this bullshit again”_. The Winter Soldier looked at Jamie, his jaw was clenched and his eyes were darting around like a cornered animal. Jamie put her hands up.

“I am unarmed, can I ask the same of you?”

He hesitated, then placed a gun on the counter. _Within arms_ reach Jamie noted.

“My name is Jamie, what do I call you?”

The Winter Soldier blinked in surprise. “What,” He asked in a small voice.

“You aren’t the Winter Soldier and you aren’t Bucky, not anymore. What would you like to be called?”

“I-I-” He frowned, angry with his inability to answer. "Call me Bucky, it's all I know."

“Alright, how did you escape Wakanda and why did you come here, of all places?”

“I heard this was where Stark was.”

Jamie's brows creased in confusion.

“He’s not your biggest fan at the moment, it would’ve been safer to stay in Wakanda.”

Bucky shook his head vehemently. “That was the last time I’m wakin’ up in a lab.”

Jamie sighed. “Fair enough, is that why you escaped?”

Bucky shrugged, looking impossibly small for a man his size. “Didn’t know anybody, thought Hydra had gotten me again.”

“That’s why you want to see Tony isn’t? He has BARF.”

“...Barf?”

“Horrible name, I know, but good tech. It could help you.”

Bucky drummed his fingers against his arm. Jamie realized he only had one arm. He caught her staring rudely at the missing appendage.

“Think he could build me a new one?”

“With how pissed he is, it’d probably be out of dog shit and aluminum foil,” Jamie answered automatically, then thought of what she’d said and winced.

Bucky snorted and looked shocked at his reaction.

 **Miss Rogers, the others are waking up**.

Jamie cursed and looked around, trying to think of a plan. “We need to get you out of here, for right now at least.”

“I’m not running away,” Bucky said stubbornly.

“Look, shit could go nuclear at any second around here. It would be best for everyone if we waited a few days to introduce you. Got it?"

Bucky stared at her. “Yes ma’am,” He smiled slightly.

“Good.” Jamie looked out the window, then an idea hit her. “Our plane!” She grinned.

“Friday, tell my friends that I went to get some McDonalds, they’ll know what I mean.”

Jamie motioned for Bucky to follow her. She led him out of the compound as quickly as she could with the help of Friday. Once the pair stepped outside, Jamie sprinted towards the woods where their jet was hidden. Bucky followed her without a word. She forgot he was there a few times because he was so quiet. The plane was a welcomed sight and Jamie smiled when she stood in the cockpit.

“You stole this from the King of Wakanda?” Bucky asked as he inspected the plane.

Jamie had been filling him in on the way over. “Well, let’s just say he made it really for us to steal it.”

Jamie and Bucky waited in silence for the others to arrive. Jamie could feel his eyes on her. “That voice at Stark’s place, it called you Miss Rogers.”

Jamie groaned. She had left out who they were with regards to their parentage.

‘Are you his sweetheart?”

“Oh God no,” Jamie yelled, trying to mentally scrub her mind. “Remember when I said I was from the future?”

Bucky nodded.

“Well, I’m Steve’s daughter. My name is Jamie Ann Rogers.”

Bucky stared at her, mouth wide open. “You-seriously?”

“Yup.”

“Damn,” Bucky hummed thoughtfully. He opened his mouth to say something but froze.

“What’s wrong?”

Bucky's eyes shot to the door. His face became blank. “Someone is approaching,” He said mechanically.

“It’s alright, it’s just my friends. The people I was telling you about,” Jamie stepped closer toBucky. He flinched when Jamie reached out to him.

“There is no threat,” She said quietly.

“No...threat?”

“Stand down, it’s alright,” Jamie said as soothingly as she could.

Bucky's arm dropped like it was made of concrete.

“I am letting them in now. There will be five other people coming in. Is that okay?” Jamie walked to the side of the bus to lower the hatch. She turned so that Bucky could see her every movement. He nodded jerkily, keeping his mouth in a straight line. Jamie pushed the button and silently prayed that nobody would say anything stupid. The hatch lowered and the others walked in. May looked from Jamie to Bucky.

“Ah."

“Yeah..”

Francis pushed past May and dropped five large bags of McDonalds on the ground. “They were suspicious, I panicked,” He said apologetically when Jamie looked at him .

Pym quickly grabbed a burger and munched happily on it.

“You do remember why McDonald's shut down right,” Azari asked with a slightly disgusted expression as he watched Pym, Francis, and Torunn gorge themselves on burgers and fries. Torunn threw a fry at Azari which he easily dodged.

“Lighten up brother, the food is good.”

“I’m not sure it even qualifies as food,” May sniffed at the burgers.

Jamie noticed Bucky staring hungrily at a burger. She kicked the person who was nearest to her, who happened to be Torrun.

‘Wha,” She grunted through a mouthful of food.

“Hand me a burger.”

Torrun tossed her a burger. Jamie held it out to Bucky. “Want one? They’re gonna be gone in a couple of years.”

He looked at Jamie questioningly.

“In a few years, we find out that the CEO of McDonalds was the a benefactor of Hydra. All restaurants were closed weeks later.”

“They’re so good,” Francis whispered to a quarter pounder he was clutching.

“You alright there Francis,” Jamie grinned.

He hummed and took another bite. Bucky eyed the burger skeptically then slowly took it from Jamie’s hand.

“What do we do about him,” May asked, studying Bucky over her fries. “

We need to alert Wakanda we have him,” Azari stood up.

Jamie leaned against the wall of the plane. “They already know.” At everyone’s confused look, Jamie explained. “Friday got a message from T’Challa that Bucky had escaped.”

“Why did you run,” Pym asked bluntly.

"Jesus Christ Pym," Jamie smacked her forehead.

Bucky shuffled his feet and looked at the ground. “I don’t like labs,” He mumbled. When he lifted his eyes, May raised her fries in salute.

“Nobody does.”

“Well,” Pym sighed, “we can’t tell Tony.”

“Agreed, that wouldn't be a good idea. Things would be even more complicated,” Azari grumbled.

“Did Hermione Granger just agree to lie,” May asked, a grin spreading across her face.

Azari glared at May. “Those books are so old.”

“They’re a classic. You’re just angry you’re a slytherin and not a hufflepuff,” Pym argued.

Francis made a face. “Yeah, who _wouldn’t_ want to be a badger.”

Pym stuck his tongue out at Francis. “Ravens are stupid.”

“How _dare_ you!” Jamie rolled her eyes at their arguing and turned to Bucky.

“I’m sorry about them, but Azari is right. We can’t tell the others you're here, at least not yet.

” “He needs a lawyer,” May walked over to them, staying next to Jamie.

“Lawyers, plural,” Francis joined them, leaving Torrun and Pym to argue over Harry Potter houses. “I’m pretty sure Foggy and Matt are still in New York.”

“Isn’t Matt dead right now,” Pym asked from where he was laying on the floor.

“Doesn't matter,” May shrugged. “He can’t stay dead anyway.”

Jamie snorted. “True, but do you think they’ll take Bucky's case?”

“Are you kidding me? A brainwashed assassin trying to prove to the world his innocence? It’s their wet lawyer dream,” Francis laughed when Jamie and May made a face at his description.

“Disgusting, true, but disgusting,” May frowned.

“So that’s the plan then. We send Bucky as a client and when we get back from Tibet we can introduce him to the others with representation,” Jamie summarized.

“Tibet,” Bucky asked.

“For the time stone,” Francis explained.

Bucky stared at him with a blank expression.

“We better get moving, it’s nearly eight,” Azari said.

Jamie nodded. “Right, just sit tight and we’ll get in touch with Foggy and Matt. We should be back in a day or two.”

“Fine,” Bucky moved away and fiddled with things in the plane.

Jamie sighed then turned to Azari. “Let’s go back then.” The six said goodbye to Bucky and quickly headed back to the compound.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoiler Alert: Bucky doesn't follow rules well ;)


	10. Chapter 10

**Don't tell that it's over when I'm just getting started**

**I'm done with waiting for them 'cause my ship has departed**

**And I can't slow it down, no**

**No I can't slow it down, no**

**“Never Going Back” -The Score**

Jamie walked alongside Azari as the six made their way back to the compound.

“Do you think they’ll help Bucky,” She asked quietly.

Azari hummed thoughtfully. “Yes, they’re good people. And it’ll make them deal with whatever is going on between them sooner."

Jamie giggled. “Hopefully we won’t have to sit through any awkward meetings again.”

Azari grinned at her. “Hopefully not.”

They fell silent as they walked. Azari opened his mouth to say something, but shut his mouth and shook his head. Pym finally broke the silence.

“What do you think the Doc is gonna be like?”

“Strange,” May answered immediately. When Pym turned to make a face at her, she grinned at him.

“I can’t wait for Tony and Strange to meet again, that is going to be priceless,” Francis cackled as he remembered the stories the men would tell of meeting each other.

“Aye, I believe they called themselves ‘Facial Hair Brothers’,” Torrun said.

“I wish someone had recorded that,” Pym moaned sorrowfully.

“Strange would’ve deleted all evidence of it ever happening,” Jamie laughed.

“They’re rivalry was amusing, if not childish at times,” Azari chuckled.

Jamie looked up at him and gently elbowed the Wakandan in the ribs. “Like you never acted childish,” She snorted.

“It is not seemly for a prince to act anything but regal,” Azari replied snottily.

May snorted loudly.

“Ha,” Pym barked, grinning at Azari.

“I have a certain video of Halloween Night last year to prove is Bullshit,” Francis grinned evilly.

Azari paled slightly. “I have no idea of what you speak.”

“Toilet Paper mummy,” Pym chipped in.

Jamie began to laugh as she remembered the last Halloween. Azari and cider do not mix well.

“Haunted House,” Azari said calmly.

Pym turned tomato red. “We agreed to never talk about that ever again!”

“I still do not understand the mortal fascination with haunted things,” Torrun mused.

Before Jamie could say ‘bullshit’, May cursed loudly. “It’s nearly nine o’clock,” She groaned.

“Well then, as our lovely couch Riri always says-” Francis began.

“Time to haul ass,” The six yelled in unision.

Pym shrank down and zipped ahead, Torrun hot on his heals. Francis and May began to race each other, calling out taunts and insults as they ran.

“Childish,” Azari shook his head, though he was smiling.

“Mm, perhaps,” Jamie grinned at him deviously. As Azari stepped over a tree branch, Jamie stuck out her foot and tripped him. Azari landed on his knees and looked at Jamie in shock. She grinned, patted him on the head, then took off as fast as she could.

“Race you,” She called over her shoulder.

“Oh, It’s on,” He yelled back.

Jamie laughed as she ran, grinning so wide her cheeks hurt. It felt good to smile like that again. Jamie caught up with Francis and May. They ran together for a while, laughing and jumping and cheering. Jamie was running along a log when a loud snap made her turn her head. A flash of black collided with her. She went crashing into the ground, instantly rolling away and crouching into a defensive position. Azari was smiling at her triumphantly, panting hard.

“Caught you,” He taunted.

“You’ve caught up with me,” Jamie correct him cheekily. “But you haven’t beat me!”

She sprang to her feet and raced away. Azari laughed and chased after her. The pair ran together until they reached the edge of the forest, where the other four were waiting.

“What took you so long,” Pym asked.

“Wild forest sex,” May replied, grinning wickedly.

“Definately,” Jamie deadpanned.

Azari choked on his spit, causing him to cough violently. Torrun thumped his back sympathetically.

“Torrun, please don’t kill the prince of Wakanda,” Francis sighed.

“He isn’t even born yet," May pointed out.

Torrun hit Azari’s back with enough force he stumbled forward. “Are you trying to kill me,” He gasped.

“Does this not help,” Torrun asked confusedly.

“Not everyone wants to be whacked by an Asgardian,” Jamie explained, smiling at Torrun’s honest confusion.

“Well,” May drawled, turning to Francis.

“I hope you die all alone,” Francis hissed, his face grew red.

“Please,” May snorted, “I’ll have at least ten cats.”

“Yeah, and maybe Pym will finally grow a pair and talk to what’s his face,” Francis said sarcastically.

Pym’s face burned bright red. “S-Shut up!”

Francis laughed evilly when Pym tried to zap him.

“Think of this,” May said, sliding an arm around his shoulders, “as an opportunity Pym. A chance to get closer to the in-laws!”

Pym pushed the laughing woman away with a huff. Jamie smiled at him and ruffled his hair.

“Do not take their taunts to heart young Pym,” Torrun grinned. “They are just being fools, as usual.”

“Indeed, it took Torrun and Francis traveling back in time to get together,” Azari added, smirking at Torrun’s outraged yell.

Pym giggled at Torrun’s expression. “Well, when you put it like that.”

The six hurried to the compound gate.

“Does anyone remember the key? I don’t think the one from twenty years in the future will work,” Jamie frowned at the keypad.

“Eight seven nine zero,” Azari said without missing a beat.

“How,” Francis asked no one in particular.

“I memorized it,” Azari shrugged.

Jamie punched in the code and grinned when it beeped and slowly opened.

“Alright Mr. four languages,” May rolled her eyes.

“Five languages,” Azari corrected her.

‘Four. You aren’t that good.”

“Five, and yes I am.”

“And we’re moving,” Jamie announced loudly, hustling everyone inside. “When we get inside, suit up and meet in by the plane Tony’s taking.” Jamie ordered.

The others chorused their agreements. Once they were inside, Jamie quickly walked to her room, grabbed her shield and clothes, then headed to the hanger. She smiled as she walked down the familiar hallways. _Huh, I’ve never seen that vase. And that painting in hideous, Tony must’ve picked that himself. And where is the couch we use for forts?_

**Miss Rogers?**

Jamie snapped out of her reverie. “Yeah Friday?”

**Boss, Vision, and the others are at hanger. The plane is set to depart at ten.**

“On it,” Jamie jogged to the hanger. Azari waved her over and Jamie tried her hardest not to blush at his smile.

“So, me, Vision, and your motley crew are heading out to Tibet. Anything I should know about Doctor Strange,” Tony asked Jamie.

“Facial hair bros,” Francis and Pym whispered.

‘What?”

“Shut up,” Jamie told the boys. “Nothing, except he doesn't like anybody that isn’t himself.”

“Huh,” Tony blinked. “Sounds like an asshole, my type of guy!”

“I still can’t believe you aren’t taking me,” Someone grumbled.

Jamie turned to see Rhodey coming towards the plane, with an expression that can only be described as pouting.

“Aw honeybear, we need Vision to show Strange we have an infinity stone. And we need someone to watch Captain Idiot and his followers,” Tony patted Rhodey’s shoulder.

“Fine, just don’t die out there. Who else would make me coffee?” T

ony gasped in mock outrage and put a hand over his heart. “Your words wound me to my core, I thought you loved me!”

“Nope,” Rhodey dead panned.

Tony blew a raspberry at his best friend. “Cruel cruel man.”

“We’ll make sure he lives,” Azari promised.

“And that he won’t doing anything stupid,” Rhodey looked Azari.

“You know, I’m standing right here.”

Azari ignored Tony’s complaint. “We’ll make sure he lives,” He repeated. 

Rhodey sighed. “I guess that’s the best you can do.”

“I am literally standing right here,” Tony protested.

Rhodey glared at his friend, then his eyes softened slightly. “You better come back in one piece, or I will climb into my suit and fly over there myself.”

Tony gave Rhodey a short but tight hug. “I’ll come back.”

Tony straightened up and grinned cockily. “After all, I’m a tough son of a bitch to kill.”

Rhodey snorted. “Don’t I know it.”

“The plane is sufficiently fueled and the coordinates have been set,” Vision said as he materialized out of the wall.

“Again, Viz, doors man,” Tony sighed.

Vision frowned. “But you all were right here. It wouldn’t have been productive to cross through a door to come to you.”

“I’ll keep coms open, keep me updated,” Rhodey told Vision.

Vision nodded meekly then floated into the plane.

Rhodey sighed sadly. “He still thinks I’m angry at him.”

“Give him time Rhodes, you both need time to process that shit show.”

“That would mean so much more to me if you followed your own advice.”

“Eh,” Tony shrugged nonchalantly, “what can I say, I’m a hypocrite.”

He turned to face the six young heroes. “Alright ducklings, on the plane!”

They walked onto the plane and took their seats.

“Do you think Strange will know we’re from the future,” Francis asked.

May hummed.“It’s a possibility, we don’t really know how the time stone works. So it might start acting weird if we come into contact with it.”

‘Is not your father,” Torrun lowered her voice when Tony passed them to sit in the cockpit with Vision. “Is not your father with Doctor Strange in Tibet?’

May nodded slowly. “I think so.”

Everyone jerked as the plane took off from the landing pad.

“Hold on,” Tony called. “We’re going to go at max speed to get out of US airspace.”

“Are you nervous to see your father again,” Jamie asked May, leaning towards the other woman to hear her over the sound of the engines.

“I am curious to see how he’ll react to seeing me, all his life with the Hulk he thought he was the only one.”

“Until you.”

“Exactly, he helped me to understand what was happening to me.”

“Although, you weren’t born that way,” Jamie pointed out.

May huffed. “No I wasn’t. Before I was pushed into a vat of gamma irradiated sewage, I was a orphan from India.”

“We have cleared US airspace,” Tony called.

“You were also one of the top gamma scientists at SHIELD,” Jamie added.

“I still am,” May said hotly.

“I gotta take a leak, man the coms,” Tony unbuckled and walked to the bathroom at the end of the plane.

“SHIELD doesn't even exist right now.”

“That just means I’m the best.”

Jamie laughed. “I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works.”

Whatever May was going to say was cut off by Tony yelling: “What the fuck!”

They instantly became alert and ran over to see what was going on. Tony was frozen, staring inside the bathroom. Jamie craned her neck to get a better look. Crouched on the toilet, a knife glinting under the florescent lights, sat Bucky.

“Dammit,” Jamie groaned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From this chapter on, we'll be meeting the other superheros!


	11. Chapter 11

**"Yeah, I'd rather be a lover than a fighter**

**'Cause all my life, I've been fighting**

**Never felt a feeling of comfort**

**All this time, I've been hiding**

**And I never had someone to call my own, oh nah I'm so used to sharing**

**Love only left me alone**

**But I'm at one with the silence"**

**-“Silence” by Marshmello**

Tony failed back, desperately reaching for his watch. “Friday!”

 **Intruder Alert, Intruder Alert**.

“Wait,” Jamie lunged after Tony, clamping her hand over his watch to prevent him from activating his gauntlet.

“What the hell are you doing,” He yelled.

“It’s alright, he won’t attack,” Jamie insisted.

Tony glared at Bucky, grabbed Jamie’s arm and dragged her away.

“Do you know what he’s done, who he is,” Tony hissed into her ear.

“I do, but I also know we’ll need him,” She whispered back.

“Maybe you can accept that, but I can’t.”

“I’m not asking to accept it, he still has a lot of this to answer for, but he’s willing to help!’

Tony’s eye twitched. “Help who, himself? Rogers? That man murdered my parents-” Tony stopped abruptly and took a deep breath.

Jamie laid a hand on his arm. “I can’t say I know what you’re going through, cause I don’t. But I do know what you will feel in twenty years.”

“How does that help me now,” Tony snarled.

“Things will get better?”

“We have reached China, Tibet is approximately one hour away,” Vision announced, peering around the cockpit door.

Tony swore forcefully. “To late to turn back now,” He glared at Bucky. “Happy now?”

Bucky shrugged.

Tony sighed. “Come out of the bathroom and _stop_ squatting like spider man over the toilet.”

“Like who,” Bucky asked as he stepped out of the bathroom.

“The guy at the airport in red spandex,” Jamie said.

“That kid?” Bucky looked startled.

“Yeah, that kid your bestie dropped a semi on.”

“Steve must’ve had a good reason-”

“Will you two ever stopped apologizing for each other? I mean-Jesus- do you think the sun shines out the other’s ass?” Tony threw his hands in the air in exasperation.

“Tony,” Jamie said warningly.

“Maybe if you had listened-”

“I was ready to listen for two years,” Tony screamed. “He could’ve told me you killed my parents for years. He could’ve listened to me when I tried to help you-”

“You tried to help me,” Bucky asked quietly.

“Yes,” Tony said, like it was obvious. “I wanted to put you through B.A.R.F, get a psych eval and get some professional help, something!”

“Steve told me it was a trap, you would do something to me because I-” Bucky stopped and swallowed, looking away.

“I didn’t know what you did until Siberia,” Tony said coldly.

“Stark, listen, I’m-” Bucky tried.

“Barnes, I don’t want to hear it.”

Bucky started to speak, but Vision interrupted him.

“Mr. Stark, there’s something approaching,” He said urgently.

Tony looked at Barnes, then hurried over to Vission. Vision pointed to a monitor and Tony cursed quietly. He sat down and jerked a pair of headphones over his head.

“This is Stark fifty seven, we have international clearance. I repeat, we are not trespassers. Turn your plane around.”

“What’s happening?” Jamie walked to them and leaned over Tony’s shoulder. The plane monitor showed another plane approaching them from the rear.

“Stark fifty seven to the plane behind us, do you copy? Is there anyone in the plane,” Tony frowned as the com remained silent.

He and Vision shared a worried look. Without warning, the plane disappeared from the monitor

. “What the-” Tony began to press buttons. “Friday?”

**They’re gone Boss, the plane just disappeared.**

“Okay, how the hell is that possible,” Bucky asked.

“That is a good question,” Tony muttered. He picked up the headset again and the plane lurched forward. It felt like something had-

“Is something attached to the plane,” Francis asked incredulously.

“That’s not possible, there’s nothing on the market with those capabilities,” Vision trailed off when a buzzing noise started.

A perfect circle fell out of the roof of the plane. Everyone jumped back. After a beat of shocked silence, a beeping cylindrical device was thrown inside the plane.

“Bomb,” Tony yelled.

Jamie started to turn her body away from the bomb when it went off. A blinding flash of white and the plane was ripped apart like paper. One second Jamie was standing inside a plane and the next she was falling through the air. Jamie quickly twisted her body into a spread eagle position. She looked around, Pym, May, and Vision were falling to her right. Torrun, Tony and Bucky were falling to her left. _Where are Francis and Azari?_ Someone slammed into Jamie and wrapped an arm around her waist. She tried to scream but the wind silenced her. The person grabbed one of Jamie’s flailing hands, let go of her waist, and swung themselves out to face her.

“Azari?” Jamie yelled. He pointed to his ear and shook his head.

“Dammit.” Azari nodded then pointed above Jamie.

Francis was in a streamline position, racing towards the pair.

“Hold on,” Azari mouthed.

Jamie nodded and braced herself for impact. Francis hit Jamie and wrapped an arm around her leg. Francis began to tap on Jamie’s leg. It took her a second to recognize the rhythms. Francis repeated his message twice. _That better work Francis or else we’re screwed._ Jamie tapped Francis’s message against Azari’s palm. Azari rolled his eyes and tapped out that-better-work. Jamie grinned. Azari grabbed Jamie’s other hand and pulled himself towards her. Jamie prayed that her blush wasn’t too obvious as he came closer. _Oh boy you are close to my face. My face is close to your face oh my god. You’re stupidly pretty face is close to mine and I might pass out right now._ Francis slowly inched up Jamie’s leg until his arm was around her waist. Here-we-go Francis tapped against her side. The three were rapidly falling towards a forest. Francis wrapped his legs around Jamie’s and brought his bow up. The wind whipped Jamie’s hair around and she was worried that Francis wouldn’t be able to shoot. They were silent as they fell. It was strangely serene. The sun was just coming up over the horizon and tinted the sky a soft orange color. The space in between the trees still looked pitch black. Jamie felt Francis draw his bow. They were only a few feet above the treeline when Francis fired. Jamie’s eyes followed his arrows as Francis fired four arrows. They rocketed towards their targeted trees. Three arrows hit the trees and a connecting net shot out of them. The fourth arrow barely hit the tree and embedded itself in side. That arrow’s portion of the net narrowly connected with the rest. Jamie was bracing herself for impact when Azari hugged her and twisted around so he take the brunt of landing. Jamie tried to pull herself out of his grip so he wouldn’t have to bare her weight but it was too late. The three smashed into the net. Jamie gasped in surprise as the net snapped.

“Shit,” Francis yelled.

They tumbled over the broken net and toward the ground. The three landed in a heap on the forest floor.

“I think I broke something,” Francis groaned. He reached under his back and pulled out his broken bow. “Ah man.”

Jamie rolled of off Azari and shakily got to her feet. “Why the hell did you do that,” She glared at Azari.

He sighed and stuck a hand out to Jamie. She sighed and pulled him to his feet. “It was logical. I could take the fall, you couldn’t,” He brushed himself off. Jamie rolled her eyes.

“I’m not some squishy human. I can take a beating Simba.”

“Just because you can doesn’t mean you should,” He countered, then added softly. “I did not want you to get hurt.”

Jamie felt herself blush and shuffled her feet. “Well, I don’t want you to get hurt either.”

Francis coughed loudly. Jamie glared at him and Francis smiled at her.

“We need to find everyone else.”

“Indeed,” Azari straightened his back.

“May, Pym and Vision fell that way,” He pointed towards the horizon.

“Torrun, Tony and Bucky fell over there,” Francis pointed his broken bow towards rising smoke.

“We should head towards civilization,” Jamie said. “We can ask around, get some supplies, and then search for the others.”

Francis and Azari nodded. Jamie began to walk towards the smoke, Azari and Francis following her.

“What do you think happened,” Francis asked.

“It was a pre-planned attack. Someone knew we were coming,” Azari said.

“Could-this is going to sound crazy but could’ve someone else came from the future,” Jamie asked.

Azari shook his head. “It’s not possible. Strange opened the portal for us, we were the only ones to go through.”

“They might’ve thought we were trespassing, or about to attack,” Francis offered.

“No, the plane had international clearance,” Jamie answered.

The three came to a sign on a long dirt road.

“Anybody read tibetan,” Jamie asked, putting her hands on her hips. “

It says that town is three miles ahead,” Azari said, squinting at the sign.

“You can read that,” Francis stared at Azari.

“I can get the jist of it, but I can’t speak Tibetan.”

They followed the sign to a small town. It was as quiet as a ghost town, though fires were lit.

“Where is everyone,” Francis asked, scanning the area.

“Let’s find out,” Jamie walked over to a house and knocked on the door. “Hello, is anyone there?”

No one answered. Jamie lifted her hand to knock a second time but an old man threw the door open.

“Get out! We don’t want your kind here,” The man yelled.

“You speak English,” Jamie asked, shocked.

The man pointed to Azari, then to Francis. “We don’t want your kind here,” The man repeated. He slammed the door shut in Jamie’s face. “

What did he mean your kind,” Francis made a face.

“And why was he speaking English,” Azari looked around the town, raising his arms defensively.

Doors opened all around them. People appeared in the doorways, windows, alleyways, and landings.

“Jamie, I think we better go,” Francis said slowly. His hands itched to hold his bow, but it was broken and tied down to his quiver. Azari unhooked his staff and held it out in front of him.

“We mean you no harm,” He said in a neutral tone.

Jamie got her shield out when a young man glared at the three. He yelled something Jamie didn’t understand and hurled a rock that Jamie batted aside with her shield.

“We’re going now,” Jamie yelled.

“Monsters!”

“Get out, we don’t want you!”

“Mutants, inhumans, abominations!”

Jamie turned quickly. “Follow me,” She ran down a street, dodging the rocks and sticks that were being thrown.

“What the hell just happened,” Jamie asked Azari as they ran.

“Apparently, we’re not wanted.” Jamie rolled her eyes at his answer.

Francis cried out in pain. Jamie skidded to a halt and turned around. Francis had been hit in the ankle by a rock. Two little girls were getting ready to drop a large rock on him.

“No,” Jamie yelled. She raced towards him and dragged him away from the girls. They hissed at her and tried to hit the pair with the rock. Azari put Francis’s arm around his shoulder, Jamie put his other arm around her shoulder, and together they began to jog.

“We need to find shelter,” Azari panted.

Jamie looked over her shoulder. A mob had formed and was chasing after them with sticks.

“There,” She pointed to an abandoned factory. Francis pulled his feet up.

“Let’s go!” Azari and Jamie sprinted towards the factory, carrying Francis between them.

Once inside, Azari let go of Francis and slammed the door shut. “Here,” Jamie tossed him a shovel. Azari caught it and put it through the door handles. He backed away from the door, breathing hard. “Well that was eventful,” Francis said dryly. Jamie huffed out a laugh. “

Who's there,” A voice barked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder whose plane that was.... and how did the villagers in Tibet know Francis, Azari, and Jamie weren't human? Hhhhhmmmm.


	12. Chapter 12

"They don't want us,

The they don't really want them.

They can hate us,

But we won't let that bring us down"

\- "Runaway" by Adam Lambert

Someone lit a lamp and Jamie, Azari, and Francis were blinded by light. Jamie put an arm over her eyes.

“Jamie?”

Jamie blinked and lowered her arm. “Torrun?”

Torrun stepped into the light. She had a small scratch on her arm and her blonde hair was a mess of twigs and leaves.

“I take it you’ve met our fans,” Tony said calmly.

Jamie turned and saw Tony sitting on an old work bench. Torrun’s eyes zeroed in on Francis.

“Are you well,” She rushed over to him.

“I’m fine T, just someone got a lucky aim.”

Jamie looked at Azari. “T” she mouthed. Azari shrugged.

“We were going to camp here for a night, then look for you guys tomorrow,” Jamie told Bucky and Tony. “But i guess our plans will have to change.”

“Can you walk,” Azari asked Francis.

“Yes,” He said, clenching his jaw.

Torrun glared at him. “With assistance.”

“We’ll wait until dark, that way we can have some cover,” Tony said.

“Alright,” Jamie sighed and began to gather dusty pieces of wood to build a fire.

"Why are you building a fire in the day time," Bucky asked.

"I don't know if it's escape you're realization, but it is fucking cold."

Francis snorted. "One minute you sound like a damn scholar and the next you could put a sailor to shame."

"Hey what can I say, I like to keep things interesting."

She assembled the logs, conscious of Tony and Bucky watching her. Azari came to the logs, rubbed his fingers together, and sent a spark to the kindling. Bucky walked over to her and sat down. Jamie saw Tony tense out of the corner of her eye.

“You’re definitely Steve’s kid,” He said quietly and smirked.

“How do you figure,” Jamie asked, sitting beside the man.

“During the war, when we were freezing our asses off in Europe, Steve would make the fire same as you did.”

“He taught me how to make a fire, how to make a compass, which plants to eat,” Jamie smiled as she remembered late night survival classes.

“He also taught us Morse code,” Francis interjected, gingerly sitting down by the fire. “Who knew that would come in handy.”

“Who knew you would still remember them. I recall you and Jamie tapping vulgar messages during meetings, much to the chagrin of your father,” Azari pointed out, sitting next to Jamie.

“Oh I know what chagrin means, I’m so much better than you,” Francis mumbled.

“Jealous is not becoming,” Azari replied.

“Up yours.”

Azari rolled his eyes at Francis’s comment.

“Up Azari’s what,” Torrun asked.

Jamie grinned and leaned forward to answer her, but Azari stopped her.

“No,” He said, index finger pointed at Jamie.

Jamie harrumphed and turned her attention to Francis.

“Can you fix your bow?”

Francis untied his broken and grimaced at it. “Maybe. I’ll have to macgyver the shit out of it.”

“Do what you have to do.”

Francis shook the arms of his bow. “Anybody got some duct tape?”

Jamie patted her uniform pockets. “I got some parachute cord, will that work?”

Francis held out his hand and made grabby motions at Jamie. She pulled the cord out and tossed it to him.

“Merci,” Francis said. Azari suddenly stiffened beside Jamie.

“What’s wrong,” She asked, looking around for danger.

Azari silently walked over to a window. He peered out, staying covered behind a wall.

“I do not think we will be able to wait until nightfall,” He stated.

Jamie quickly walked to his side. “What do you see?”

He turned her head to the right. The mob had found them and were approaching the door.

Jamie cursed. “Azari’s right, we’ve run out of time.”

Tony hopped off his table. “I’ll try to give us a little more time,” He strode to the door. Tony pressed a combination into his watch. It emitted a small repulsor beam that Tony used to weld the door shut.

Torrun stood up and held her arms out to Francis.

“Uhm, what are you doing?”

She frowned. “I am carrying you, you are injured and cannot escape quickly.”

“Thanks,” Francis said sarcastically.

“Just get in her arms,” Jamie sighed.

Francis sighed loudly. “Fine, but turn around. No way in hell are you going to carry me bridal style.”

Torrun rolled her eyes, turned around and bent over. Francis awkwardly climbed onto her back, mindful of his ankle.

“My manhood is ruined,” Francis complained.

Your manhood works just fine,” Torrun said with a straight face.

Jamie and Azari choked on air. “Did Torrun just make a dick joke,” Jamie asked, shocked.

“I think she did,” Azari replied, staring at Torrun.

“There’s a fire escape in the back,” Bucky said as he materialized next to Jamie.

“Jesus,” She jumped.

  
Tony stopped welding and came back to the group. “That’s going to buy us ten minutes, tops.”

“Then we better get moving,” Jamie motioned to Bucky. “Lead the way.”

They walked to the fire escape that looked like it could collapse at the faintest breeze a few feet below the window.

“Lovely,” Jamie scanned the area below. “Azari first, then Torrun and Francis. Bucky’ll go after them and then Tony I’ll bring up the rear.”

Azari’s brows furrowed as he made an adorable pouting face. “What if I went last instead.”

Jamie put a hand on his shoulder. “I need you to go first, make sure everything is safe,” She smiled at him. “Don’t worry, I won’t do anything stupid.” Azari put a hand over hers and squeezed.

“I will see you on the ground.” He sat on the window sill, swung his legs out, then dropped onto the fire escape. It creaked when he landed, but nothing broke. Azari went down as fast as he dared, stopping every few steps to listen for signs of danger. Finally, he reached the bottom. Azari looked up and down the alleyway then gave the all clear. Torrun stood on the windowsill.

“Please don’t jump down, please please-” Francis begged.

Torrun grinned and jumped out of the window. Francis valiantly did not scream. They landed on the metal structure with a clang. Torrun quickly jogged down the stairs. Bucky backed away from the window.

“Where the hell are you going,” Tony asked.

Bucky smirked then sprinted towards the window. He leapt out, clearing the window and the fire escape, and hit the ground.

“Show off,” Tony muttered and looked at Jamie.

“You need to go,” Jamie said, looking behind them.

“And you’re coming with me.”

“What?”

“Stark,” Bucky called. "You stuck up there?”

“Barnes I swear to god I will tase you,” Tony snapped.

“Look, I’ll be right behind you. Now go,” Jamie gently pushed Tony towards the window.

Tony huffed but he climbed out of the window. "Don't anything stupid."

Jamie spared one last glance behind her and followed Tony out. He was waiting for her on the fire escape. Jamie dropped down into a crouch.

‘Nice landing,” Tony complimented.

“Thanks,” She smiled at him.

The pair ran down the stairs to the others.

“Nice of you to join us,” Francis said.

Jamie glared at the man and held up a hand. “Want me to slap you in the ass?”

“Pardon me Jamie, but his posterior is mine,” Torrun objected.

“Ha,” Francis stuck his tongue out at Jamie.

“I need bleach for my ears,” Jamie groaned.

Azari smiled. “They must be making up for years of sexual frustration.”

“And what about you two,” Francis retorted.

Jamie’s brain short-circuited. “What,” She stuttered.

Azari was blushing madly next to her.

Tony chuckled. “I’ll take pity on you,” He patted a frozen Azari’s shoulder. “We need to get moving.”

“Yes,” Jamie said and quickly started walking.

“Wait,” Azari had stopped and was looking down an alleyway. “Follow me.”

He led them to a rusted white van with a tarp thrown over it.

“You wish us to travel in this contraption,” Torrun asked skeptically.

Jamie dramatically threw her hands at the van. “Your chariot awaits.”

“Asgard chariots do not have such,” Torrun wrinkled her nose “decay.”

“Unless you want to carry me for a few miles, old rusty will have to do,” Francis said.

“Drivers seat,” Jamie called then raced to the seat before Azari or Torrun could claim it.

Tony and Azari sat in the front. Torrun, Francis, and Bucky crammed in the back.

“Car on,” Jamie said, checking the mirrors. The car didn’t make a sound.

“The hell,” Jamie smacked the dashboard. “Car on!”

“What are you doing,” Tony asked slowly.

“Trying to turn the car on,” Jamie looked at Tony like he had asked a stupid question.

“To turn a car on, we usually use keys,” Tony said.

“Keys......oh,” Jamie sighed. “I forgot we were in the past.”

“You can turn cars on with your voice in the future,” Bucky asked, fascinated.

“Yep, and if you’re really rich, you can get a flying one,” Jamie said as she looked for a set of ‘keys’. “Question, what do keys look like?”

Tony and Bucky stared at Jamie. “You’re joking, right?”

Jamie threw her hands up. “We don’t have car keys in the future, sorry!”

“Wait,” Francis leaned into the front seats. “Remember that history class Steve made us go to at SHIELD? What was that thing we learned with starting old cars?”

“History class,” Tony said, somewhat offended.

“Hot wiring?” Azari offered.

“Yes,” Jamie snapped her fingers and pointed at the steering wheel. “Now how do we do that.”

“Here,” Tony leaned over Jamie’s legs. He quickly exposed two wires and began tapping them together. Eventually, the engine started with a loud bang.

“Think anybody heard that,” Jamie said, looking around for an approaching mob.

“Let’s not be here if they did,” Tony sat back up.

Jamie pressed on the gas and the vehicle lurched to life. It puttered out of the alleyway.

“If this is our getaway car, it’s sad,” Francis noted.

“Don’t make me turn this car around young man,” Jamie told Francis, raising an eyebrow at him in the mirror.

“We are literally going five miles an hour.”

“Are you volunteering to get out and push?”

“Hell no, I’m injured,” Francis grinned.

“Jamie,” Torrun pointed out the right window. “I think it would be prudent if we made a hasty departure.”

The mob had found them and were running toward the car.

“I think I agree with you,” Jamie slammed the gas pedal and quickly turned the steering wheel. The van jerked forward and into a sharp turn that lifted the car off it’s left tires.

“Tell me you know how to drive,” Tony yelled, clutching his seat belt for dear life.

“How different can cars be in this time,” Jamie shrugged as she turned the van to avoid spilled trash cans.

Bucky, Francis, and Torrun slammed against the sides like an intense game of jello.

“Motherfu-” Francis grunted when Torrun and Bucky rammed him against the window.

“Anybody have an idea of where I should go,” Jamie asked, braking to turn a hard left.

“The way we came,” Azari told Jamie.

“I think I might be sick,” Bucky moaned.

“Don’t you dare,” Jamie ordered. “If you barf, I’ll barf. It won’t be pretty.”

The van flew past the town circle they had first come through. It hit a bump and the entire van became airborne for a moment.

“This is not how I want to die,” Francis yelled as he lifted off the seat.

Jamie scoffed at him. She pressed the gas more and rocketed out of the town and into the forest.

///

The mob stopped at the edge of the town as if there was a line in the dirt they could not cross.

“Your job is done,” A figure in black whispered. “Now _awaken_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the missed update last Saturday. There was a healthy issue in my family that put everything on hold. Thankfully, everything's fine. I'll post again this Saturday to make up for my absence :)


	13. Chapter 13

“Oh we're here in the jungle, running right into the fire

Oh we're here in the jungle. Who's gonna make it out alive

Oh we're here in the jungle, legends are made from the fire

Yeah this mountain gonna rumble. Tell me who's gonna make it out alive”

“The Jungle” by Zayde Wolf

 

Jamie kept her foot firmly pressed against the gas pedal until she couldn’t see the town in the rear view mirror. Then she eased up on the gas. 

Francis felt his face. “I’m alive,” He whispered.

“You’re welcome,” Jamie said. 

“Are we just going to drive until we see something,” Tony asked.

“Probably. Is FRIDAY working?” Jamie looked at Tony.

“Barely, this thing wasn’t meant for long hauls.”

Bucky stared at Tony’s watch. “Isn’t that the thing you took my gun apart with?”

Tony glared back at Bucky. “I’ll be happy to do it again.”

“Hey Francis,” Jamie said loudly, breaking the growing tension inside the van. “Why don’t you get on top and see what your elf eyes can see?”   
Jamie rolled down the window to let Francis out. He climbed over Torrun and out of the car. Francis banged on the top once. Jamie and Azari leaned to the side. 

“What are you two doing?” 

Jamie grabbed Tony’s arm and pulled him down. Seconds later, an arrow pierced the metal right where Tony was before. Bucky and Tony jumped. 

“He’s secured. Now I can floor it without worrying if Francis is still there,” Jamie explained.  

Francis’s face appeared in the window next to Jamie. “Please don’t.”

“There’s not enough gas in this rust bucket to go faster than thirty. You’re safe.”

Francis gave the thumbs up and disappeared from the window. 

“With this amount of fuel,” Azari tapped the gas meter, “we have approximately an hour left until we’ll have to walk.”

“Let’s hope we find them before then,” Jamie searched the trees. 

Francis pounded on the roof. “I see something!”

Jamie slowed the car to a halt and Francis jumped off the roof of the van. 

‘Where?”

He pointed to the center of the road a few yards ahead. There was a small silver bag. 

“That’s not suspicious at all,” Jamie muttered. 

She unhooked her shield. “Stay here,” She ordered and slowly advanced to the bag.

_ I probably look like an idiot right now.  _ As she got closer, she recognized the bag. It was the bag Pym always used to carry candy. 

“Pym,” Jamie called. “It’s me Jamie!”   
Silence. There wasn’t a sound, not even the birds were chirping. Jamie raised her shield, tensing to fight. Pym appeared directly in front of her.

“Jamie,” He smiled happily. 

 “Hey Pym,” Jamie smiled back and hugged him.

“Dammit Pym,” May’s voice groaned. “Couldn’t even wait a minute.”

Pym frowned. “But it’s Jamie!”

  
May stepped out from behind a tree. “Is it? Could be a shapeshifter.”

Jamie glared at May. “Seriously?”

May grinned. “That glare is all you.”

“Miss Rogers,” Vision floated down from a tree.

“Hi Robin Hood.”

Vision looked confused. 

“Never mind.”

“Is Mr. Stark alright?”

Jamie smiled gently at the android’s worrying. “He’s fine. Tony and Bucky haven’t killed each other yet.”

“Yet,” May muttered.

Jamie looked at May who smiled innocently.

“Do you know who planted the bomb inside the jet?”

“No,” Jamie sighed. “And that worries me. But we have to get to Strange.”

  
“Before the plane was destroyed, we were an hour and twelve minutes away from his location.”

  
“Okay not as far as I thought,” Jamie hummed in consideration. 

“How are we going to get there,” Pym asked concernedly. 

“Well, Torrun, Vision, and Pym can’t carry us there,” May stated.

“And that rust bucket is nearly out of gas,” Jamie pointed to the van. She waved the group over to her. 

“The gang’s all here,” Francis said when he reached them.

“We should get a dog,” May added.

“No,” Azari and Jamie said in unison.

“We could barely keep a fish alive,” Azari remarked.

“That was not my fault,” Pym said quickly.

“Uh, yes it was. It was your turn to feed Bufford,” Francis insisted.

“Nu uh, it was Torrun’s week. And his name was Reggie!”   
“Guys,” Jamie cut in. “That fish died literally the first week we got it because the villain of the week ate him.”

“Oh yeah,” Francis and Pym said.

“Do I want to know,” Tony asked.

“Probably not,” Azari acknowledged. 

“How will we reach Strange? We have no mode of transportation,” Torrun pointed out. 

“That’s what we were,” Jamie trailed off. She stared as a ring of flickering orange appeared behind Bucky. “Well that’s handy.”

“What the hell is that,” Bucky exclaimed as he quickly backed away. 

“I think Strange is expecting us,” Azari answered.

“Let’s see where this rabbit hole takes us,” Jamie confidently walked into the portal. In a second, she set foot into snow. The sudden change in terrain made her stumble slightly. She looked around and say the familiar buildings of Kamar-Taj. 

“Damn it’s cold,” Francis complained as soon as he exited the portal.

"So you’re saying this sorcerer lives in the middle of fucking nowhere, good to know,” Tony said sarcastically. 

“Travelers,” Strange’s deep voice boomed.

Jamie grinned at his approaching figure. “Strange, it is  _ good  _ to see you.”

Strange frowned briefly at Jamie’s familiarity but became emotionless.

‘Who sent you,” He bellowed. 

A tightly-knit pattern of orange flame erupted in a circle around Jamie and the rest.

“So much for a warm welcome,” May whispered. 


	14. Chapter 14

 

**“But the silver-tongued devil's got nothin' to lose**

**I'll only live till I die**

**We take our own chances, and pay our own dues**

**The silver tongued devil and I”**

****\- "The Silver Tongued Devil and I”** ** **by Kris Kristofferson**

 

 

Jamie slowly backed away from the orange fire. “I think there’s been a misunderstanding Strange.”

He glared at Jamie from where he was levitating. “How do you know my name?”

“Well...”

“Tony!” 

Tony perked up at the voice. “Bruce!” 

Strange looked behind himself. “Do you know him?”

Bruce stepped out from behind Strange. “Yeah, he’s my friend.”

Tony took a step forward but the fires didn’t die down. “Let me out,” He yelled.

Strange glared at Tony. “Listen-”   
“Oh for fuck’s sake,” May sighed and picked Tony up by the back of his shirt. She walked to the edge of the fire and dropped him on the other side. He landed with a yelp. 

Strange rolled his eyes, waved his hand, and the fire disappeared. Tony ran over to Bruce and wrapped his arms around man.

“Where were you? And why are you in my clothes?”

“Uh, it’s a long story actually. Why are you traveling with a bunch of kids?”

Jamie walked past their reunion, smiling at Bruce, to Strange. He regarded her warily.

“You’ve been around magic recently,” was the first thing he said to her.

“Very recently,” She agreed. “About three days ago actually.”

‘Come with me.” He teleported the two of them inside a building. 

Jamie tripped over a book on the ground. She was temporarily blinded by the increase of light. Strange brushed past her with a book in his hand and Jamie was again teleported to another building.

“Can you stop doing that,” She groaned. 

Strange smirked and grabbed Jamie’s hand. He spread some red substance on her palm and chanted a few unknown words. The goo on Jamie’s hand glowed a vibrant red. Strange rubbed some of the red slime into his palm and pressed his against’s Jamie’s glowing red palm. Jamie gasped when their hands touched. It felt like when you take a drink of cold water after chewing mint gum. Strange’s eyes glowed red then he jerked his hand away with a yell. 

“You’re from the future?” Strange gaped at Jamie. 

“What just happened,” Jamie looked at her hand. The red goo had dried down instantly.

“It was a seeing spell, it would detect the magic you came into contact with and show that to me,” Strange explained, breathlessly. “The future?”   
“Yep, and if you saw everything then you know why I’m here,” Jamie said as she wiped her hand against her uniform. 

“Jesus,” Strange muttered. “I swore that I would protect the Earth.”

“You did, that’s how you  _ died.  _ Didn’t you see, you sent us back!”

“And now it’s happening again?”

“This is the first time for you,” Jamie sat on the edge of a table. 

“Strange lifted some of his shirt up to reveal the eye of agamotto. “This is an infinity stone?”

Jamie nodded. “That’s the time stone.”

Strange sighed and rubbed his face. “This is going to be hell isn’t it.”

Jamie started to answer,  _ yes it’s going to be hell. But you’ll get through, I know you will,  _ but the entire mountain shuddered. 

“What the hell,” Jamie put her hands out to steady herself as the mountain continued to rumble.

Strange grabbed her arm and teleported them back outside to the group.

“There you are,” Tony said, walking toward her. “We were getting w-”

‘Something’s here,” Strange interrupted him. 

“What could possibly find this place,” Tony gestured to the mountains.

Strange opened a portal and a stern looking man stepped out of it.

“Wong.”

“Strange, what are these people doing here,” He glared at Jamie and the rest. 

“Hi,” May smiled at the man when he glared at her.

“You’re green,” He stated.

“You’re observant,” May said sarcastically.

“Something is coming here,” Strange turned to his friend. “Something bad.”

Wong sighed and pulled out a weathered quarterstaff. “Just when I wanted a vacation.”

“Do you have any ataul weapons here,” Tony asked Strange.

“We practice the mystic arts, there is no need for weapons,” Strange sniffed.

“Congratulations. We can all hold hands, drink green tea and rub crystals after this is over but the rest of us can’t wave our hands around,” Tony said.

Strange’s eye twitched. “ _ Rub crystals?” _ _   
_ “Oh boy,” Francis whispered.

“I think what Tony was trying to say was that the rest of us need weapons. We can’t use magic,” Jamie explained quickly.

“Magic!” Tony snorted derisively.

“Do you have a problem with magic Stark,” Strange asked through gritted teeth.

“Only that is complete bull-”

“Look,” Azari yelled, pointing to the sky.

A small black plane emerged from the clouds. It silently came closer and closer until it reached the edge of the mountain. The plane gently touched the ground, a door opened on the side, and a figure in a black cloak stepped out. Jamie recognized his sickly thin frame instantly.

“Ebony Maw,” Jamie spat out the creature’s name.

The man’s pupiless blue eyes shined brightly and his mouth stretched into a jagged smile. 

“Always nice to be recognized,” He crooned softly. “Though I don’t know who you are.”

Jamie clenched her teeth but she felt her answer bubble up her throat and force her mouth open. 

“My name......is...Jamie.”

Ebony Maw smiled condescendingly at her. 

“Doctor Strange,” Ebony called.

Strange stepped forward, his face etched with confusion. 

“I am looking for the time stone, tell me where it is,” Ebony said, his voice was as smooth as honey but Jamie felt ice in her stomach whenever he spoke.

“It’s,” Strange shook his head. 

Ebony sighed then shook his head. He turned to Bucky and crooked a long, bony finger. “Tell me where my stone is, won’t you?”

Bucky lifted his arm and silently pointed towards Strange. 

“Why don’t you all stay still until I say so,” Ebony pointed to Strange. “Bring me the infinity stone.”

“It was you, wasn’t it. You blew my ship up” Tony growled, struggling to move from his spot. 

Ebony pretended to shrug bashfully. “My ship  _ is  _ very advance, and those villagers were so easy to talk to.” He looked behind himself. “In fact, they’re still listening to me, such  _ nice  _ people.”

Jamie’s eyes were glued to the edge of the mountain. Soon, she heard pants and grunts. A hand crept over the edge, then another hand, and then a man pulled himself up. Dozens more crawled up the side of the mountain. Each person’s hands and feet were bleeding. Bucky slowly walked towards Strange. He lifted the amulet off of Strange’s neck and turned to Ebony. Ebony motioned to a few of the people standing behind him.

“Destroy that android would you? He has something I need.”

“No!” Tony yelled.

Vision tried to fly but he remained rooted to the ground. Several people advanced towards him.

Bucky stepped closer to Ebony, his fingers were gripping the amulet so tight that his knuckles were bone white. Ebony held out a hand, waiting for Bucky. 

“Bucky, don’t!” Jamie shouted.

Bucky walked until he was next to Ebony. 

“That’s a good soldier,” Ebony cooed.

Bucky blinked, looked down at the amulet, back up at Ebony, then jerked his hand away. Bucky threw the amulet back to Strange and punched Ebony as hard as he could.

“No one gets in my head again,” Bucky snarled.

Ebony clutched his jaw in surprise. “Stupid human, do you have  _ any  _ idea who I am?” 

Bucky shrugged. “Don’t care,” He swung at Ebony again. 

While Ebony was distracted, Jamie felt his grip on her weaken. Bucky landed another punch and Jamie felt Ebony’s control evaporate. She raced towards the amulet and snatched it up before one of Ebony’s controlled could grab it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Vision rocket into the air. Jamie pivoted and chucked the amulet at the android.

“Vision, run!” She screamed.

He hesitated, looking at Tony.

“Go,” The engineer yelled.

Vision nodded sadly and shot into the clouds.

“No,” Ebony bellowed. He swatted Bucky aside and pointed to Jamie. “Kill them, kill them all!”   
Jamie stared as the mass of people slowly shuffled towards them.

“You don’t have to do this, it’s him,” Jamie tried to reason with them. 

May grabbed Jamie’s arm and pulled her back. “It won’t work Jamie, you know how powerful Ebony is.”

Jamie sighed in defeat. “Strange, can you get us out of here?”   
“Follow me,” He yelled then turned and ran towards a building. 

They all ran after Strange, the people under Ebony’s influence close behind them. The wind had picked up and was whipping around, howling through the mountain. It stung Jamie’s eyes and made her vision blurry. Behind her, she heard someone trip. 

“Torrun, move,” Francis yelled. 

Jamie stopped and looked behind her. Torrun had tripped and a large man was running at her, full speed. Jamie ran back and helped the other girl up.  Jamie and Torrun started to sprint towards Strange but the man grabbed Torrun by her hair and yanked her back, yanking Jamie back as well. A flash of green shot past Jamie’s face and hit the man directly between the eyes. 

“Ha!” Pym’s squeaky voice cheered. 

“Pym?” Jamie looked around for the smaller boy.

He floated down onto Jamie’s shoulder. “We need to go!”   
Jamie nodded, grabbed Pym so he wouldn’t fall off, grabbed Torrun’s hand so they wouldn’t be separated, and  ran to catch up with the rest. 

“Our friends are by that doorway,” Torrun yelled over the bitterly cold wind.    
Jamie’s eyes scanned for the door Torrun was talking about. A flash of blue drew her eyes to it. Azari was lighting up a door. 

“C’mon,” Jamie ran faster, pushing herself to reach the door before the people caught them. 

The three burst into the room, Jamie and Torrun quickly threw themselves against the door to close it. 

“Nice of you to join us, this way,” Strange said. He walked down a hallway, turned left, and presented gateway’s with a grand flourish 

“Three doors, impressive,” Tony said dryly.

Strange glared at the man.

“These are the three sanctums, this one is the New York Sanctum,” Wong pointed to the door Francis was leaning against. 

‘Sweet, let’s go,” Francis turned to face the door.

Strange opened the door and unceremoniously pushed Tony through it. 

“You really shouldn't have done that,” Bruce sighed.

“Why?”

“You left Tony Stark alone inside the New York sanctum,” May explained.

Strange’s eyes went wide and he quickly darted through the portal. Jamie smiled and shook her head. May turned to Bruce.

“After you.”

He looked at her, then smiled shyly. “Thanks.”

Bruce had one foot inside the portal when May called out: “See you there dad!”   
He whipped around, eyes wide with shock. “What!”

The portal pulled him through before he could say anything else. 

“That’s going to be interesting,” Azari commented.

May hummed, then glided through the portal.Torrun and Francis went through next, then Pym. Wong put a hand on Jamie’s shoulder. 

“Give Strange this,” He handed her a folded piece of yellow paper. 

“What is it,” She turned paper over.

“Give it to Strange,” Wong repeated.

Jamie nodded, put the piece of paper into her pocket, and strode through the portal with Azari behind her. Wong watched the two leave, green and red light swirling after them.

“Hopefully that will be enough,” Wong sighed tiredly, turning back to see if the creature had reached the doors yet. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Just wanted to tell you that updates will be moved to Sundays. :)


	15. Chapter 15

**"The lives have all divided, we're seen in separate paths.**   
**If one side says it's down in white, the other's up in black.**   
**My tension's stirred a mountain and there ain't no goin' back.**   
**Rumble's gonna happen, I hope they make it back"**   


**"Gonna Be A Fight Tonight" - Danko Jones**

Jamie felt the portal close behind her with a  _ woosh.  _ She looked for her friends and had to duck immediately to avoid a vase thrown at her.

‘What the hell!?”

“Jamie thank God you’re here,” Francis ran over to her. “They’re all crazy!”   
“I literally just got here,” Jamie looked at the chaos.

‘Stark! Do you have any idea how much that vase was worth?”   
“Do you have any idea, Strange, how much I don’t care?”

Bruce paced around the room, hands pulling his hair and green slowly creeping up his neck.

“You’re my daughter,” He said in a strangled voice. 

“No, I’m green for the hell of it,” May retorted.

Torrun, Pym, and Bucky were watching the Banner family drama from atop a large cabinet.

“How did you even get up there,” Jamie asked, staring at the three. 

“Even I know that  _ that _ ,” Bucky pointed to May and Bruce, “is best from a distance.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

‘But-But that’s not possible, I can’t,” Bruce waved towards his crotch.

“I don’t need a biology lesson, I know,” May said quickly.

“Then  _ how the HELL are you my daughter _ ,” Bruce practically screamed.

“Tell him before he breaks my sanctum,” Strange ordered, looking at Bruce apprehensively. 

“I’m you adopted daughter, you found me in a village in Calcutta during a SHIELD mission.”

“SHIELD?

“Uh-huh,” Pym said from his perch. “Coulson runs it.”

Tony and Bruce looked like they were about to pass out. “Coulson......is alive?”

“Yeah?”   
Azari rubbed his forehead. “Coulson is still alive. Fury had a part in his resurrection.”

“May, why don’t you take Brue and explain before he passes out,” Jamie suggested. 

May put her arm around Bruce’s shoulder and steered him away. “It all began on a cold summer’s night.”

Jamie huffed a laugh, amused by May’s antics. 

“Okay, I’m going to ignore the fact that Coulon is fucking alive and freak about that later,” Tony waved his thought away. 

“Oh,” Jamie remembered the piece of paper in her pocket. “Here, Wong wanted me to give this to you” She handed it to Strange. 

He looked at the piece of paper with a frown and put it into his shirt. “I’ll read it later. Now we must figure out our next move.”

“Aye, we now possess two of the infinity stones,” Torrun said from her spot. 

“Are you going to come down and join us,” Francis asked, raising an eyebrow..

“No,” the three said in unison.

“We need to get back the compound, that should be our first move. Strange,” Jamie faced the sorcerer, “if I remember right, Thor and the Guardians should be landing on Earth soon.”

“The who?”

“A bunch of Assholes from space. Can you tell us when they get here?”   
‘I will, but tell me who is ‘Ebony Maw?”

“A dick,” Francis stated.

“He’s a member of Thanos’s Black Order.”

“Is that Thanos’s boy band?” Tony snorted.

“There’s Ebony Maw, Proxima Midnight, Black Dwarf, Corvus Glaive,” Jamie counted the names with her fingers. She wiggled her thumb with frustration. “Who’s the fifth one?”   
“Supergiant,” Azari offered.

“Yes! And supergiant.”

“Why are all of their names involved with black?” Tony wondered.

“Aesthetic,” Francis shrugged. 

‘Great, super villains with aesthetic.”

“Technically, they’re aliens with aesthetic,” Azari corrected.

Tony glared at the prince. “Yes, because what we really don’t want to do is mislabel them.”

“Is that why he was able to control us, ‘cause they’re aliens?” Bucky asked. 

‘Ebony was never a fighter, he was the brains behind the operations-so to speak,” Azari told Bucky. “That makes him the most dangerous.”

“Wonderful,” Strange sighed. 

“We don’t have anyone in our corner to fight him,” Tony groaned. 

Jamie awkwardly looked at her feet. 

“What is it,” Tony said tiredly.

“There’s Wanda, but-”

“Wanda?!”   
“But, I don’t know if she’ll help you. I know her from the my time. She was different.”

“Twenty years is a long time ,Jamie, for the rest of use this is all new,” Tony gestured with his hands. 

“That is becoming increasingly apparent,” Jamie bit her lip. “Fuck shits this is annoying. I keep forgetting it’s twenty years in the past.”

“See what i mean,” Jamie heard Francis whisper to Bucky. “Scholar to  _ sailor _ !”   
“We should get back to the compound, make sure it’s still standing,” Tony said after a while.   
“I’ll portal you there.”

Tony made a face. “I’d rather take a cab.”

Strange gave Tony an unimpressed look. “You broke my vase, you go through my portal.”

“I didn’t break your damn candle holder Strange. My repulsor malfunctioned and hit it.”

“The repulsor that is on your wrist.”

Tony looked at his wrist like it had betrayed him.

“Hey Doc,” Pym jumped down from the cabinet. ‘I’d love to go through another portal, they’re so fun. I’ve always wanted one of your ring thingies, I was so bummed when my dad said I couldn’t have one. But atleast you do, and it’s so cool!”   
Strange smiled slightly at Pym’s hyperness. 

“Alright, I’ll send a message when the guardians arrive,” Strange put his hand up and slowly waved the other in a circle. A sparking orange light followed Strange’s hand until it opened into a portal.

Pym grinned then raced through the portal. One by one, the rest filed through the portal. Jamie waved at Strange before she stepped through.   
“Should I be concerned that Strange could open a portal directly to my office,” Tony said as he looked around his beige office. 

“I think you should ask him if he could somehow magic this room itno something decent,” Francis muttered, glaring at the beige curtains.

“It’s not that bad,” Tony said defensively.

Francis poked a leather chair and pointedly looked at Tony. 

“In my defense, I’m never in here and I was probably drunk when I designed this place.”

“The compound looks so different Tony, it’s really changed in two years. Is Steve here,” Bruce rambled as he looked around the room.

Everyone stiffened at the mention of Steve’s name. 

  
“What, was it something I said?"

  
“Didn’t you tell him,” Jamie looked at May.

She put her hands up. “I thought he already knew, it’s kind of hard to miss!”   
“Miss what?”

“Do the words ‘civil war’ ring any bells,” Francis asked, hopefully.

“No, should they?”   
Everyone in the room groaned. 

“Have I missed something?”   
Tony put an arm around Bruce’s shoulder. “Brucie, a lot has happened since you were here.”

Bruce looked at Tony skeptically. “Like what?”

“It all started when-”

**Hawkeye is in the vents,** ** _again._** Friday announced, for the a.I., she sounded extremely annoyed.

“ _ Again _ ?!” Rhodey’s voice yelled. 

The doors burst open and a very angry Rhodey came in. “Damn Barton, in the damn vents again,” He muttered.

He looked up and saw everyone standing there.

“I take it things are not well,” Torrun asked, looking at the ceiling.

“Barton keeps getting in the fucking vents,” Rhodey ground out. 

**Smoking him out now.**

The sound of fire extinguishers echoed through the rooms and then a strangled curse.

“Did Barton do something,” Bruce asked. 

Rhodey seemed to notice Bruce was with them. “Oh boy.”

“Yeah, uh Bruce, I’ll take you to my lab and explain what’s going on,” Tony led Bruce out of the room, sharing a look with Rhodey. 

“Is Vision here,” Jamie asked, walking to Rhodey.

“He got here an hour ago, scared out of his mind. Something about a mountain and a dude in a black coat?”   
“Ebony Maw,” Azari explained. “He is a member of Thanos’s circle.”

“The dude has a circle now?”   
“He likes to call it the Black Order,” Francis chimed in. 

Rhodey threw his hands up, clearly exasperated. “Why not.”

“How are our parents doing,” Pym asked softly.

Rhodey’s eyes softened when he looked at Pym, who was wringing his hands on the shirt of his uniform.

“So far, everything’s fine. Barton keeps getting into the vents but other then that,” Rhodey shrugged.

May looked at Francis knowingly when Rhodey mentioned the vents.

“What?”   
“We need them don’t we.” Jamie bit her lep and put a hand on her hip.

“Yes,” Azari answered, looking as unhappy as Jamie did about his answer.

“We should tell them what happened,” May stated. When everyone turned to her, she continued. “They need to be caught up on everything, so there’s no miscommunication.”   
“Miscommunication is their forte, if you haven’t noticed,” Francis reminded her.

“Hey,” Rhodey started to protest but thought about what Francis had said. “Never mind, that’s fair.”

“Let’s go tell them,” Jamie said, already getting a headache from the arguments that inevitably will happen.

Rhodey hung back. “I’ll get Vision and meet you there.”

“K, see you there,” Jamie marched towards the section of compound their parents were staying in. She braced herself along the way.

“Are you ready to face them again,” Azari questioned, walking in step with Jamie.

“You sound like we’re going to a firing squad,” She huffed, subtly switching her step.

Azari automatically matched her new pace. “In some ways, that would be easier.”

Jamie slowed her stride slightly, causing her to go out of step with Azari.

““Would you  _ stop  _ that,” He stressed, glaring at Jamie.

“What? It’s funny,” She said innocently. “You can’t let go of your musical impulses.”

Azari made a face. “That’s the strangest way a person has ever said ‘musician’ without actually saying musician.”

“Then my life is complete,” Jamie deadpanned. “Not my fault you play, what, four instruments?”   
“Five, and it is your fault that you can’t stay in step.”

“Who says I can’t?” Jamie challenged and strode forward confidently.

Azari jogged to catch up. ‘Do you know what you will say to them?”

“I just figured I’d tell them what happened at Kamar-Taj, just sort of wing it.”

Azari’s eye twitched when she said she’d just improvise. “A plan would be nice.”

“I do have a plan, a very general sort of plan, but a plan nonetheless. Plus,” She nudged Azari with her elbow. “I have you.” Jamie realized what she said and quickly added “for plans I mean.”

Jamie blushed at her awkward wording.  _ Yeah, that was soo smooth.  _ Azari smiled at her and her stomach erupted into butterflies.

Pym was standing outside of the door, peering inside through a window. Bucky was behind him.

“What’s going on in there?”

“I don’t know,” Pym jumped up. “But they’re arguing!”   
“They’re already arguing? We’re aren’t even in there yet,” Jamie exclaimed. 

“The argument has much spirit, it was fierce before we arrived,” Torrun said, looking in through the other window. 

“Can we please go in now, they look like they’re about to start punching,” May begged.

“Wait, are you serious,” Azari remarked, rushing to look in a window. Torrun moved aside to give him room.

‘I think I’ll stay out here,” Bucky broke away from the group and walked to Jamie. “I don’t wanna cause anymore trouble.”   
“We won’t say you’re here,” Jamie laid a hand on his arm. “Why don’t you go find Tony? See if he’ll get you an arm.”

“Yeah,” Bucky said, unconvinced.

May walked up to Jamie. “Let’s go in,” Jamie said before May could start begging.

‘Yes,” May cheered and ran to the door.

“Just don’t do anything-”

May and Francis pushed open the doors. 

“Sup peasants,” Francis yelled. 

“Peasants?” Several voices gasped.

“-dramatic,” Jamie finished with a loud sigh.

“I’ll see you around,” Bucky clapped Jamie on the shoulder, turned, and strode down the hallway.

Jamie watched him leave for a moment then jogged into the room.

“Where were you,” Steve demanded, complete with his hands on his hips. 

“Talking to someone, listen we need to talk about-”

“Who were  _ you  _ talking to,” Clint challenged.

“Clint,” Steve warned.

“The hell is your problem,” Francis stormed up to his father and got in his face. “We’re trying to help. We actually came here to tell you what’s going on, something you wouldn’t know how to do.”

“What are you talking about,” Clint demanded.

Francis scoffed. “You knew about Tony’s parents didn’t you? You knew Steve didn’t give a shit about the accords, he only cared about  _ Bucky.  _ How could you dad,” Francis hissed, spit flying out of his mouth. “You left me, you left us all along to help her?” He pointed to Wanda. “She didn’t need any help and we did. Me, Cooper, Lila, and Mom, we needed you and where the fuck were you? Out with Captain America, fighting for what? What was so important that you left us alone!”

  
“Stark was keeping Wanda locked up like a prisoner,” Clint defended. “She was just a kid! Stark was being selfish and-”

“ _ We _ were just kids Dad, she’s twenty fucking six! Let her grow up and face her actions, dammit, didn’t you know what people who do to her if she was on her own?”

“What do you mean,” Wanda asked quietly. 

Francis tried to answer her but he choked up. Jamie stepped up, placed a hand on his shoulder, and answered the young woman. 

“After Lagos, people were angry. They wanted someone to pay and they thought you were the perfect person to blame. Tony was protecting you by keeping you in the compound so no one could hurt you.”

Wanda snorted. “He locked me up like a child!”   
“You’re acting like one,” May cut in. “Are you saying you wouldn’t have run off just to stick it to Tony if he had told you to stay inside?”

Wanda didn’t say anything but glared at May. 

“And stop acting like you had no idea this was going on.”

“I didn’t! Stark never told me” Wanda yelled.

“You could’ve turned on a T.V.,” May snapped. “It’s not Tony’s job to keep you informed of everything little thing that’s happening. God forbid you tried to be self sufficient. He’s busy trying to save the world.”

“How dare you talk to me like this you big green,” Wanda snarled, her palms flashed red.

“Whoa,” Sam shouted, grabbing one of Wanda’s arms. 

“We all need to calm down,” Steve said placatingly. “Why don’t we take a break.”

“Normally, I’d agree but we all need to talk,” Jamie interrupted. “We went to talk to a sorcerer about the infinity stones.”

“The what?” Sam looked confused.

“There’s a mad titan named Thanos who wants to destroy the Earth. To do that he must possess six magical stones, called infinity stones. We assume Thanos already has one. Strange is the reason why we’re here,” Azari explained tiredly. 

‘So you went to talk to a magician named Strange,” Steve said skeptically.

“He prefers sorcerer, but sure,” Jamie agreed. “He’ll help us when Thanos comes.”

“And, uh, when is that? Exactly?” Scott asked meekly. 

“Honestly, I don’t really know. In our time, he first came May fourth, twenty eighteen but he could come sooner.”

“So you  _ have  _ messed everything up,” Wanda accused Jamie.

“Pardon us, we do not want the world to erupt in flames,” Azari snapped.

“Again,” May added snidely. 

“Jamie!” Peter ran into the room, panting. ‘There’s a dude and a bunch of badass looking ladies in the living room!”   
“Sounds like your father,” Jamie told Azari.

“King T’Challa is here? Why?” Scott looked worried.

“Don’t worry, he isn’t here to drag you back to Wakanda, in fact I think he’s fucking ecstatic you're gone,” Francis muttered.

“Let’s go,” Steve went to the door but Peter blocked him.

“Sorry Mr.Captain, but he wanted Jamie and her friends.”

“Listen son-”

“We’re coming,” Jamie walked past her father. “Don’t break anything while I’m gone.”

She led the others out of the room and followed Peter.

“I heard yelling,” Peter said quietly.

“There’s going to be a lot of yelling,” Jamie grumbled, looking back at Francis.

Torrun had an arm around his shoulder and they were talking quietly to each other. 

“Jamie,” Someone crowed. “My dear sweet Jamie,” Tony sauntered over to Jamie. He leaned next to her ear. “Can you tell me why the King of  _ Wakanda  _ is in my living room?”

Jamie shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know, ask him!”   
They stepped into the living room. Jamie noticed that everyone was behind her and Azari.

“Really,” She glared at the people behind her.

“Mr. Stark,” T’Challa rose from where he was sitting. “I must apologize for my sudden arrival but the matter is urgent.”

“Well, you’re the politest person to ever break into my house.”

“Is something wrong,” Jamie inquired.

T’Challa shared a look with one of the Dora Milaje who was sitting on a couch.

“There is always murmurs of discontent in Wakanda, not everyone is happy every day, but we have heard something especially unsettling.”

“Is everyone here?” T’Challa looked around the room. “I would like to discuss things together so we can move forward.”

“Not everyone, there’s- wait I have an idea,” Jamie said loudly, grinning.

“Oh please no,” May begged. 

Torrun and Pym groaned. “Let’s not do that,” Francis tried to bargain.

‘Nope,” She grinned at them. “We’re doing it.”

“Uh, doing what,” Peter asked hesitantly.

‘Round table,” Jamie cheered loudly to cover up her friends protests.

“There’s a conference room with a table that I think would be big enough,” Tony offered.

“Can you not,” May retorted.

‘Follow me,” Tony walked down a hallway.

Jamie went to T’Challa. “Can I ask you a favor?”   
He nodded for her to continue. “I know the Dora Milaje are the king's bodyguards, but could they help us keep the peace? You know, in case anyone tries to start a fight.”

T’Challa looked amused. “Do you think it will come to that?”

Jamie counted the number of people who would be in the room inside her head. “A lot of people means a lot of different opinions. You know how that went down at the airport.”

T’Challa made a face. “Point taken. I will ask the Dora if they are willing to babysit.”

“Thank you,” Jamie smiled and they jogged to catch up with Tony. 

“Someone willing to get Rogers and the rest,” Tony asked the group.

“Not it,” Peter and Pym yelled. 

“We’re still missing the other two,” Bucky noted, falling in next to Jamie.

“No you’re not Barnes, we’re back here,” Rhodey yelled from where Jamie presumed was the back of the group.

“Where the hell- do you just wait for someone to be walking to scare them,” Jamie accused him.

Bucky shrugged. Jamie noticed he had markings on his shoulder, markings that looked like measurements. 

“Ah, Barnes. This is where you ran off to,” T’Challa commented.

Bucky winced. “Hello King, sorry about that.”

T’Challa waved a hand. “It is fine now, I know where you are and my scientist are alright.”

Several employees saw the group of superheros walking down the hallway and quickly turned tail and ran the other way. One man yelped and dove into a room. Tony paused at a room.

“Here’s our headquarters.”

They all filed into the conference room, one by one. Tony grabbed Vision’s arm, stopping him from entering.

“Are you alright?”

The android nodded. “I am well and the stone is secured Mr. Stark.”

“Good, that’s good. Friday?”

  
**Yes Boss?**

‘Could you please ask Happy to escort Rogers and the rest here?”

  
**Do you want Mr. Happy to bring them here?**

Tony frowned at his AI. “yeah, that’s what I said. Are you okay Friday?”

  
**I’m fine Boss. But do you want Rogers and his followers to come** **_here_ ** **?**

Tony rolled his eyes and sighed. “Yes Friday, I want them here. We need to talk things out.”

People smiled at Tony and Friday’s antics.

**Will do Boss.**

Friday sounded like she wanted to say more. “Yes Friday?”

  
**Permission to flood the vents if Barton and or Lang get into them?**

**  
** “Permission granted Friday,” Tony smiled.

**Mr. Happy has been notified Boss!** She chirped happily.  **But he has a message for you.**

“What is it?”

**The message is not appropriate in present company Boss. It is.......explicit.**

Rhodey snorted. “That sounds like Happy.”

“Let’s take a seat, so we could at least look professional when they come,” Tony smiled but Jamie say the nervousness in his eyes. 

“Don’t worry Tony, we got this,” Jamie rubbed his arm comfortably.

‘Yeah yeah,” He shooed her away.

Jamie mockingly tipped an imaginary hat at him and walked to the table. She started to sit at the middle seat but T’Challa stopped her.

“Why don’t you sit at the head of the table,” He suggested.

“Wait, seriously? Shouldn’t you be the one sitting there?” Jamie stared at the monarch. 

“In this instance, I yield the seat to you. After all, you did travel from the future to fix our problems.”

Jamie grinned at the man. “Thank you.”

He gently pushed her towards the seat. ‘Go, I will take my seat.”

Jamie sat at the head of the table, May to her left and Azari to her right. Pym sat next to May and Francis and Torrun sat next to Azari. T’Challa took a seat next to Pym. Jamie saw Pym trying not to freak out about a king sitting next to him. Jamie cracked a smile when Pym not so subtly gaped at T’Challa. He noticed Pym’s staring and held out a hand to Pym.

“Hello, my name is King T’Challa.”

Pym looked like he was about to faint. “M-my name is Pym-m your majesty.”

Rhodey dragged Tony and plopped him down next to T’Challa. Bucky rushed over and pulled out a chair for Rhodey. Rhodey looked up at the ex-assassin in surprise.

“....thanks.”

Bucky nodded and scooted the chair over. Rhodey wheeled himself next to Tony and Vision took the seat next to Rhodey. Jamie noticed Vision looking at Rhodey’s leg with such a guilty expression from time to time that she desperately wanted to run over and give the android a long hug. Bruce timidly walked over to Vision and sat next to him. Peter ran into the room dressed in his spider-man outfit. He webbed a hammock behind Tony’s seat and made himself comfortable. Bucky gingerly sat next to Torrun. She smiled widely at him and Bucky instantly became more relaxed. The Dora Milaje silently strode into the room and stood behind T’Challa then fanned out to stand behind the others. Okoye stood behind Azari and silently studied the future prince. Jamie gazed the empty chair directly across from her. Steve would probably sit in that chair, facing her. She swallowed nervously. Azari reached out, grabbed her hand, and squeezed encouragingly. She smiled gratefully. Azari ran a thumb over her knuckles and Jamie felt like she was weightless. T’Challa watched their interaction and smiled conspiratorially when Jamie looked at him. Jamie felt herself blush and silently cursed the king. 

**They’re here.**

Azari let go of Jamie’s hand and she instantly missed the warmth. Everyone in the room collectively breathed in then out.

“Here we go,” Tony said, already sounding tired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that almost everyone's in the same building, there's going to be a lot of emotional talks and arguments. Tissues may or may not be needed. :)))


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the next chapter! My sincerest apologies for the long wait, life can get crazy sometimes. I should be back on schedule now :D.

**"It's sad, so sad, so sad**

**Why can't we talk it** **over?**

**Oh it seems to me**

**That sorry seems to be**

**be the hardest word"**

**\- Sorry seems to be the hardest word by Elton John**

There were times when Jamie questioned herself.  During a fight, she didn’t have the luxury to question her own orders. But after? After, she would lay awake for days, cross checking every decision she made. _ Was it the right one? What if I hadn’t said that? _ Jamie always envied her father for that, for his natural ease and confidence in giving orders. He was a natural leader, steadfast and firm in his beliefs. Jamie, ever since she could remember, had to mold and twist herself into a leader. Nobody ever believed her when she said she wasn’t a leader because she was Captain Steve Rogers daughter, how could she not be a natural born leader? She didn’t stand on unwavering beliefs like her father, and that was what made them different, besides the fact that they didn’t look related at all. Jamie had her mother’s blonde hair and soft brown eyes. Steve was nearly her complete opposite, unlike him Jamie valued compromise. She understood that when the whole world tells you to move, it might be because you’re in the way. There are times when you stick to your guns and go down swinging and there are times when you have to get out of the damn way and help people move forward. Jamie wished she could say the meeting went fine. They all discussed things and agreed to more  _ forward.  _ The rogue avengers had walked into the room, it was tense for a few seconds. Jamie asked them to sit down and immediately began to tell everyone what happened in Kamar-Taj. Everyone chimed in when they had something to say and listened to the others. There was no raised voices or tears, it was civil. When everything was discussed, people broke off to talk in small groups. Tony, Bucky, and Steve went out of the room. Rhodey, Sam, and Vision walked to the corner of the room. No one yelled, no one cried, it all went perfectly. Jamie wished it had been that way.

 

What really happened was this:

 

Sam was the first one to enter the room. His eyes automatically flicked to Rhodey, to Tony, to T’Challa and finally rested on Jamie. Wanda followed him. She glared at everyone until she saw Vision. She smiled timidly at the Android. If Jamie didn’t know any better, she would’ve sworn that she saw tears in Vision’s eyes when he looked at Wanda then away. Her smile fell from her face. Scott came in next, he jumped when he saw Peter hanging from the ceiling then waved awkwardly at Pym. Pym looked his father in the eye then turned away. Scott put his head down and shuffled to his seat. Clint stomped into the room, anger and distrust radiated off of him like a caged animal. Francis scoffed and glared at his father. Clint opened his mouth but Steve came in and put a hand on his shoulder. The archer instantly deflated and dropped into an an empty chair. Jamie tensed, nervousness made the skin on the back of her neck prickle. Steve sat down in the chair directly opposite of Jamie. His eyes scanned the room. Steve and Sam saw Bucky at the same time.

“Oh shit,” Sam whispered.

“Bucky?” Steve’s voice sounded so soft and fragile like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. 

Jamie cleared her throat. “You better sit down Steve.”

Steve fell into his chair, staring at Bucky. 

Jamie and Azari shared a look.  _ Here we go. _

“I guess I’ll start from the beginning, the six of us and-”

“What is Bucky doing here?” Steve blurted out. He looked shocked that he had said anything. At being named, Bucky shrank in his chair.

Jamie closed her eyes and tried to count to ten. “Excuse me?”

“Why is Bucky  _ here _ ,” Steve repeated, sounding slightly desperate.

T’Challa shifted in his seat. “I believe I have an answer for you Captain. Barnes was cryogenically frozen in Wakanda. My scientist temporarily took Barnes out of cryogenics and placed him in a coma to see if he would be compatible with-” T’Challa sighed like he couldn’t believe what he was about to say. “BARF. We underestimated the amount of medicine needed to keep Barnes in a coma and he awoke then fled from the facility. What I don’t understand is why you,” T’Challa looked at Bucky. “Fled to America, to Stark?”

“I thought he could help me,” Bucky whispered.

Rhodey scoffed. “Why would he? After you killed his parents.”

“That wasn’t Bucky,” Steve responded immediately.

Rhodey rolled his eyes and muttered a curse.

“Whoa, whoa, what?” Banner leaned forward. “This dude did what now?”

“What do you about this,” Clint accused the doctor.

Banner gave Clint an unimpressed look. “Just the cliff notes, but this guy killed Tony’s parents?”   
“That wasn’t Bucky, it was Hydra!” Steve defended his friend.

“Tell them that,” Tony snarled with such emotion that everyone stared at him. “You know what I saw in that video Rogers? I saw my parents being murdered by your best pal. Didn’t you hear my mother, my fucking mother, beg for Howard!”

“That wasn’t him Tony?”   
“Then who was that in the video? Huh Rogers, who was than then!”

Steve shook his head like he couldn’t understand why Tony didn’t get what he was saying.

“Steve,” Sam said slowly. “Are you telling me you showed a civilian with PTSD a video of your best friend killing his parents?”

“He doesn’t have PTSD,” Wanda spat out her words.

“How long how did you know?” Rhodey asked at the same time, glaring furiously at Wanda.

“A few months. I assumed,” Sam chuckled self-deprecating, “I assumed he was getting help. Maybe I just didn’t want to look hard enough.”

Steve leaned forward, putting his arms on the table. “Sam, he was an avenger-”

“A civilian,” Sam slammed his hand against the table causing everyone to jump. “A god damn civilian.” Sam shook his head. “I even told him where you were, I even told him,” Sam whispered, almost to himself.

“Why are you defending him,” Wanda demanded. “After what happened on the raft!”   
Tony looked like he was going to vomit. ‘Sam, what happened on the raft?”

Sam sighed and hung his head. “I was tortured.” Sam chuckled bitterly. “Ross thought I knew something.”

“Jesus Sam I’m so s-”

“Stark,” Sam interrupted Tony fiercely. “When I first got there, when the first punch came, I did blame you.” 

Tony flinched, hunching in on himself.

“I was pissed and blamed you for everything, but you know what kept playing through my mind? I kept seeing Rhodes fall from like sky like my partner Riley did and I realized something. The reason I was in that fucking cell on that raft was because of Ross. I chose to follow Steve, and I don’t regret that. Not for one second, but I don’t blame you Stark. Hell, I’m sorry for how shit went down.”

Tony nodded mutely, his throat too constricted to allow talking. 

“Stark isn’t a victim!” Wanda screamed, tears were gathering in her eyes.

May looked at Wanda like she was a toddler throwing a temper tantrum. “Why not? Because your pain, your shit is somehow better than his? Listen, I know Hydra seriously fucked you up. But that doesn’t mean you can use that to discredit everyone else, everyone’s struggle. I’m going to tell you something you should’ve learned a long time ago,” May leaned forward, her eyes were focused with laser precision on Wanda. “Pain is relative honey.”

Jamie looked at Wanda. The young witch seemed to vascillate between fury, indignation, and deep emotional sorrow. She settled with a mixture of indignation and confusion.

“What do you know of pain,” She whispered, her accent much more pronounced.

May smiled with no emotion. “Too much.”

Wanda stood up abruptly. “I need to go, I-I need air.”

“Miss Maximoff, you should stay here so you are not excluded from any discussion,” Azari suggested gently. 

“No,” Jamie said. “She needs some space.”

Vision rose to his feet. “I will accompany Miss Maximoff out of the room for some air.”

He floated through the table and gently took Wanda by the elbow. He nodded to jamie and led the young woman out of the room. 

“Well that was exciting,” Francis muttered when Wanda and Vision had left the room.

“Does anyone else have anything else to add?” Jamie asked, ignoring Francis. 

No one made a sound, looking at each other apprehensively.

“Alright then. The six of us, Vision, Tony, and Bucky went to Tibet to find a sorcerer named Strange. In our time, Strange was the one to send us back in time.”

“Doesn’t that violate at least ten rules of time travel? Talking to the guy who sent you back has to be one of them,” Clint pointed out, looking at the ceiling in boredom.

“Oh you’re right, let’s just go back and let the world burn,” Francis said sarcastically.

Clint took his feet off the table and landed with a loud thump. “What’s your problem kid.”

“My  _ problem  _ is why the hell are you acting like an ass,” Francis retorted.

“We’ve already had this argument,” Clint said, trying to sound bored but Jamie could hear the underlying tension in his voice.

“Hey guys, let’s try to,” Jamie tried but was interrupted by Francis.

“Welcome to the next twenty years Dad. You and Tony were friends, were starting to become friends again in our time, why the hell did you side with Steve?”   
Clint glared at his one time friend. “He kept Wanda locked away like a prisoner.”

‘Uh, no he didn’t. Wanda was locked up like an actual prisoner after she went with you and we all know how that shit show turned out.”

“Like an actual prisoner, you mean on the raft? Where she had a fucking  _ collar _ put on her,” Clint challenged.

“Why was she on the raft in the first place? Oh that’s right, because she followed you.”

“Guys,” Jamie said forcefully. ‘I’m going to stop you right there because I know this argument can go on for hours. We need to talk about our next move.”

Francis glared at his father, clenching his jaw, but nodded slowly. Clint huffed and crossed his arms but didn’t say anything further.

“While we were at Kamar-Taj, we told Strange about the infinity stones, which by the way, he has the time stone. Banner was also at Kamar-Taj-”

“What were you doing in Kamar-Taj,” Pym wondered aloud.

Bruce glanced at his hands uncomfortably. “I, uh, sort of fell in one of his buildings?”   
May snorted. “Nice.”

Pym looked even more confused. “How?”

“The last thing I remember was Thor, Valkyrie, and me on a ship. We were flying towards Earth when something hit us. I got thrown out of an airlock then woke up in Kamar-Taj.”

“Who’s Valkyrie?” Tony asked.

“What were you doing in space?” Steve looked at Bruce.

“That is a tale for another time. By Banner’s account, my father has already met the Guardians,” Torrun spoke up.

“Right, yes, the guardians. They’re a group of heros from space. Strange will keep an eye out for them.”

Wanda and Vision quietly returned to the room. Wanda had tear stains on her face but her and Vision were gently smiling at each other. 

‘What do we do until they get here?” Scott asked.

Jamie shrugged, then she remembered what T’Challa said. “King T’Challa, was there something you wanted to say?”

T’Challa nodded. “Yes, and please, call me T’Challa. I have a feeling we will be fighting alongside one another shortly. There has been word in Wakanda of a dark force circling our borders. Normally, I would not put such rumors at the forefront of my focus but with all I have learned in the last few days, it seemed crucial that i shared this information with you.”

“Thank you for telling us, was there a name mentioned? A leader?”

T’Challa frowned, thinking. “Yes.....there was a name mentioned. Black Dwarf, I think.”

Jamie sighed and cursed. Steve looked at her sharply. “Black Dwarf, damn. He’s a member of Thanos’s Black Order. He’s powerful.”

Before anyone could ask who the Black Order was, May explained it quickly. “The Black Order are Thanos’s cronies.”

“What does this Black Dwarf want with Wakanda?”

“The Vibranium, probably. Or maybe your technology, either way he won’t stop till everyone’s dead and he has what he wants or  _ he’s  _ dead.”

T’Challa’s expression grew thunderous. “He will not lay his hands on our vibranium or our technology until we are dead.”

“Hopefully it won’t come to that. But you have to be ready for war when he comes.”

“How did it go the last time,” Sam asked in an expectant tone. 

“Badly,” May said bluntly. 

“The fight was hard, you barely won it,” Jamie tapped a fist against the table. “Hopefully, this time it’ll go better.”

“Hopefully,” Sam huffed.

“We should split up into teams,” Steve said slowly. “So we can hit Thanos and his buddies on all sides.”

“We don’t have the best track record with  _ teams _ Cap,” Clint pointed out, sounding bitter. 

“The other members of the Black Order, we don’t know where they are,” Jamie admitted.

“That’s helpful,” Wanda snapped.

Jamie glared at the young woman.

“What do you suggest we do then?” Azari challenged. “We do not have the locations of the remaining members, so it would be pointless to send out teams on a wild goose chase.What we should do is make the compound an information center, send a team to Wakanda and keep everyone else here at the ready. Teams can be sent out as needed.”

“Does that work for everyone,” Jamie looked around the room. 

No one said anything. Though she saw Steve glancing at Bucky every few seconds. Jamie already regretted what she was going to say. “Does anyone have any questions?”   
“Why should we listen to you?” Wanda demanded.

Jamie blinked, she had honestly been expecting Steve to ask something about Bucky.

“Because, out of everyone in this room we know the most about what’s going on,” Jamie leaned against the table on her fists. “You can not listen to us, no one’s forcing you. But if you decide to go lone wolf, know that you’ll probably fuck things up monumentally. We need to be a unified force, fighting on a  _ unified  _ front. I know the word ‘unified’ is probably foreign to the lot of you, but going it alone will create chaos, which means more bodies.”

Wanda mulled over what Jamie said. “Fine,” she said at last.

“Thanks so much,” She said sarcastically. “Anyone else?”   
“What is Bucky doing here,” Steve nearly yelled, like he was accusing them of stealing Bucky from Wakanda.

“He came here of his own accord Captain,” Azari imputed, studying the older man. 

Steve gave Azari a look that obviously said he didn't believe him and turned to Bucky. 

“Buck, what are you doing here?”

Bucky glanced at Tony before looking at Steve. “I heard there was somethin’ here that could help me with my memories, so i could become me again. The Bucky you remember.”

Steve’s brows came together in sympathy. “You’re still the same Buck, ‘til the end of the line, remember?”

“I don’t remember!” Bucky slammed his arm against the table. “I  _ don’t remember  _ Steve! I’m not the same and neither are you, so stop trying to act like we are.”

“Bucky, I can help you remember. But Stark, he can’t!”

“Why can’t he? Because I murdered his parents,” Bucky snarled. 

“That wasn’t you Bucky! You were under Hydra’s control. T’Challa forgave you, so Tony should be able to!”   
Jamie winced.  _ Steve just majorly fucked up.  _

“Do not drag me into your argument Captain,” T’Challa said sharply. “As Ms.May said, pain is relative. You cannot compare me to Mr. Stark. I was seeking vengeance for my father and it nearly consumed me, that is why I agreed to offer you, Barnes, and the others refugee in Wakanda.”

“That was the only reason we were there?” Clint said, outraged. “Because you felt guilty?”

“And it was my many lessons in patience that let you stay as long as you did,” T’Challa retorted, briskly.

Azari disguised a laugh as a cough. Okoye’s lip twitched into a smirk. 

Clint’s mouth snapped close, he glared at the king. T’Challa returned the archer’s glare with indifference.

“There’s stuff to help you Buck, too. Stark can use his tech to fix you-”

“What makes you think he’ll give it to Barnes,” Rhodey asked harshly. 

“He owes Bucky-”

“He doesn’t owe Bucky shit!”

“I’ll do it,” Tony said quietly.

Rhodey turned to Tony. “Tones, no-”

“I don’t forgive you Barnes,” Tony directed his attention to Bucky, staring the ex-assassin dead in the eye. “I don’t think I ever will. But the world is a few days away from going to hell in a handbasket and we need ever man on deck.” Tony leaned forward. “I’m doing this for me Barnes, not you. Just to be clear. I need closure on  _ something  _ in my life.”

Buky swallowed. “Crystal, Stark.”

“Azari’s right,” May announced, trying to change the subject.

“Subtle,” Azari whispered.

She kicked the future prince in the shin under the table. 

“We should form teams that are ready to be sent where ever we need them.”

“Who goes on which team?” Scott asked.

“If I could make a suggestion,” Azari said smoothly. ‘The group that should go with my fa-I mean T’Challa is Barnes, Dr.Banner, Colonel Rhodes, and Barton.”

“That’s a pretty random mix,” Rhodey observed, sounding like he didn’t like the arrangement. 

“Is is,” Azari agreed. “But it worked previously.”

“Can’t argue with history,” Bruce said wryly.

‘Watch me,” Steve snapped. “I’m going as well.”

Jamie wanted nothing more than to smack her head against the table with frustration. “Fine, Steve. Go with them.”

Steve looked surprised. “You-you aren’t going to argue?”

“Believe it or not, I’m not always arguing with people. You just bring that out of me.”

“ _ Damn _ ,” Sam muttered. 

‘I do not care who comes with me,” T’Challa interrupted Steve before he could respond to Jamie. “Only that they are ready to depart in twelve hours.”

‘Twelve hours?” Pym looked at the king.

“There are other things I wish to discuss.”

“Well,” Clint waved an arm. “Discuss them then. Let’s get going.”

T’Challa glared at the archer. “I did not realize you were privy to all my private meetings Barton. Would you like to accompany me to the next council meeting?”

“Meeting adjourned,” Jamie said quickly, before anymore arguments could start. 

Clint stood up and marched out of the room. Scott walked over to Pym.

“Your mother is Hope, right?”   
Pym froze on the spot. “What?” He squeaked.

“Pym, that’s  _ her  _ last name.”

Pym sighed, relaxing. “Yeah, she’s my mom. You guys had me before you got married so i got her last name.”

Wanda walked out of the room and Vision stood up to follow her.

“Viz, Sam, c’mere a sec,” Rhodey called. 

Sam and Vision stopped, looked at each other, then hesitantly turned to Rhodey.

“What are you up to Platypus?” Tony whispered to Rhodey.

“There’s something I need to do,” He whispered back.

Tony nodded, squeezed Rhodey’s shoulder, and left the room. Bucky’s eyes tracked Tony and when he left Bucky quickly followed the engineer. Steve started after Bucky but Jamie stopped him. 

“Let them talk,” She said. “Go calm Clint down or something.”

Steve looked after Bucky then nodded. He went in search of the archer. Scott and Pym left the room, talking to each other animatedly. Jamie looked to Rhodey. Sam and Vision were approaching him timidly. Jamie rolled her eyes with a snort and subtly ushered the rest of her friends out of the room.  _ They definitely need to talk things over. _

///

T’Challa and the Dora Milaje quietly left the room, leaving Rhodey, Sam, and Vision alone. 

“Rhodes, I am so sorry-”

“Colonel Rhodes, I must express my deepest regret and-”

‘Guys,” Rhodey put a hand up, silencing both of the men. ‘That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

Rhodey pushed himself away from the desk and towards Sam and Vision, waving away their offers of help.

“I saw you, both of you, the entire time everyone was talking you kept looking at me. Like it was all your fault-”

“But it was,” Sam protested. “I couldn’t catch you!”

“And I was the one that wounded you,” Vision whispered.

Rhodey sighed. “First of all, Sam. I’m not Riley. It’s alright, there was no way you could’ve gotten to me in time. And if you did, we would’ve both fallen.”

Sam nodded, though he didn’t look entirely convinced. 

“Vision,” Rhodey turned to face the android. The look of crushing guilt on the android’s face made Rhodey take his hand. “Listen to me, you were compromised. You’re less than a few years old, you don’t have full control of your powers, and you were experiences emotions you’d never felt before during a fight between friends. I’ve seen men far older and far more experienced than you, soldiers, choke up. We shouldn’t have been expecting you to make that shot. And I am not,” Rhodey caught Vision’s gaze, “making excuses. I’m explaining what happened. I don’t blame either of you, so you can stop looking at me like that.”

Vision and Sam nodded sheepishly.

“Good,” Rhodey nodded. “Now let’s go see if a fight has started yet.” 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my personal head canon, I think Sam recognized Tony had PTSD because he was a VA counselor. He didn't talk to Tony about it because when Sam joined the avengers, Tony had left and there was already a division forming within. Also, at the end of every few chapters or so, I'm going switch POV to a past hero and show relationships beginning to mend/form. Let me know what you think of that!


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Real life can be a right bitch times. It turns out 2017 had one more sucker punch for me but I have an ice bag and am ready for round two! My New Years resolution is to update this weekly :D

**“Hold**

**Hold on**

**Hold on to me**

**'Cause I'm a little unsteady**

**A little unsteady”**

**\- X Ambassadors**

 

Jamie and the others shuffled aimlessly down a hallway until FRIDAY announced the time.

“It’s already ten!” Pym gasped.

“Bedtime,” Jamie ordered, lazily pointing down the hall.

“What are we, five?” May scoffed, though she could barely keep her eyes open.

“Don’t make me use my mom voice.”

May gave a half hearted salute and shuffled to her bedroom. Prm, Francis, and Torrun followed her. Once they were alone, Jamie leaned her head against Azari’s shoulder. He rubbed a hand comfortingly up and down her back.

“How do you think the meeting went?”

He hummed in consideration. 

“Considering who was in the room, I think it went remarkably well.”

Jamie sighed, feeling thoroughly exhausted. “There is still so much we have to do.”

Azari patted her back and pulled away just enough that he could look down at her. “In time, for now you need to rest.”

Jamie straightened up and stuck her tongue out at the young prince. “Buzz kill.”

“Mature,” He chuckled lightly. “Go sleep Jamie,” He gave her a gentle push towards her bedroom.

“Yeah yeah,” Jamie leaned against the door as it swung open, carrying her inside. She kicked it shut and flopped down onto the bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow, FRIDAY dimmed the lights. Jamie restlessly laid in bed for a few hours. She tossed and turned, her brain working at a million miles per minute. Finally, she gave up on trying to sleep.

“Fuck.” Jamie threw the blankets off the bed and stumbled out into the bright hallway. 

She made her way to the kitchen, trying to walk as quietly as she could. Jamie passed the living room with the balcony and she stopped. Torrun was sitting outside all alone.  Jamie sighed, grabbed a blanket off of the couch, and walked outside. Torrun looked up when she heard the door open but she didn’t say anything to Jamie. Jamie gingerly sat down next to Torrun and threw the blanket over the both of them. She kicked her feet as they dangled over the edge.

“I don’t think i could ever get tired of this view,” She breathed in deeply, staring at New York during the night. 

Torrun nodded her head but remained silent. Jamie gently nudged her friend in the side. 

‘What’s up?”

Torrun inhaled shakily. “What-what if we do not make a difference?”

“What?” Jamie blinked.

Torrun turned to Jamie, she could see the worry in the asgardians eyes. “What if this is all for not?” This could be destined to happen not matter what we do!”   
Jamie frowned as she thought about what Torrun said. “By my thinking, we’ve already made a difference.”

“Have we?”

“Yeah,” Jamie nodded. “T’Challa is willing to help Tony and Vision isn’t in space or getting his infinity stone taken. Everyone knows what’s going on, which a hell of a lot different then last time.”

“Aye,” Torrun nodded slowly. Jamie knew she wasn’t entirely convinced. 

Jamie moved her arms and Torrun laid her head in Jamie’s lap. Jamie adjusted the blanket then gently brushed Torrun’s hair with her fingers.

“My mind will not stop tormenting me of late. It has made me restless.”

‘Amen to that sister,” Jamie snorted.

Torrun’s lips quirked up. “It is something my father used to tell me when I was small. He would say ‘no matter how large the boulder is, the river will run the same course’.”

“So you’re worried that no matter what we do, things will end up the same?”

Torrun nodded. Jamie bit her lip in concentration, slowly braiding Torrun’s silky hair. 

“That might be true,” Jamie felt Torrun tense. “That might also be bullshit. I’ll be damned if any of them die. I won’t let that happen.”

Jamie stared out at New York. “Do you remember what Tony told us about the fight against Thanos?”

“It was a battle hard fought and barely won, what of it?”

“What if-” Jamie continued to braid Torrun’s hair. “What if they don’t fight him?”

Torrun looked up at Jamie. “What are you suggesting?”

‘We fight Thanos, not them. That way, no one dies.”

Torrun hummed sleepily. “That could be wise, if one of us dies then who knows what would happen.”

“Exactly,” Jamie said quietly. 

She looked down at Torrun when she felt the other girl go completely lax. She was fast asleep, snoring gently. Jamie smiled and continued to braid her hair.

“You aren't going to die, none of you. Not if I can help it,” She promised.

“What are you two doing up?”

Jamie jumped slightly and turned her head. Francis was leaning against the door in a pair of sweatpants. He was gazing lovingly at Torrun’s sleeping form. Jamie looked at the shirt Torrun was wearing then turned to Francis with a shit-eating grin.

“Is she wearing your shirt?”

Francis blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yes?”   
Jamie’s heart nearly burst at the cuteness. “C’mere and we’ll switch.”

Francis sat next to Jamie and caressed Torrun’s face with his thumb. 

“You love her, don’t you?”

Francis smiled conspiratorially, staring at Torrun. “Yeah, I really do.”

Jamie gently lifted Torrun’s head and Francis slide into her place. 

“I’ll leave you two,” She winked at Francis and stood up. 

“Jamie?”

“Yeah,” She turned around.

“Thanks.”

Jamie’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Thanks for what?”

“Just-thanks. For everything.”

Jamie looked at Francis like he was saying gibberish but nodded her head and went back inside. She flopped onto the couch and sighed loudly. 

“Trouble sleeping?” An accented voice asked. 

Jamie looked up, squinting slightly from the bright light in the kitchen. Okoye was sitting on a bar stool, in full armor, with her spear laying on the table. Jamie walked over and leaned against the counter. 

“Thinking too much.”

Okoye smiled and turned to look out the window. “The ones in power often cannot sleep at night. Their beasts chase them in their dreams.”

Jamie groaned. “My beasts can fucking run then, sleep seems like a nice idea.”

“You are young, you can outrun them.”

Jamie smiled at the older woman. “Thanks. So, what do you think of New York.”

Okoye wrinkled her nose and Jamie laughed. “I must admit, I prefer Wakanda. New York is loud and cold and I cannot see the stars.”

Jamie nodded as she talked. “I can’t disagree with you there, but New York is also damn lively. The city that never sleeps.”

Okoye inclined her head. Jamie bit her lip and looked at the skyline. “How-how do you think the meeting went?”

Okoye turned to Jamie, silently studying the girl. “It went well, you did not freeze up.”

“Okoye, that is high praise, coming from you,” T’Challa walked into the room, a smile on his face. 

“I speak the truth my King, she has potential.”

T’Challa turned to Jamie. “I spoke with Stark and he agreed to let me finance some of the repairs.”

“How the hell did you manage that? What magic did you use!”

T’Challa chuckled at Jamie’s response. “I merely told him what you told me.”

“Huh,” Jamie squinted at T’Challa. 

“Here,” T’Challa gave Jamie a sleek black phone. “This phone is heavily encrypted and has a number that can reach me directly for emergencies.”

“Thanks, so I can’t send you cat videos at three am?”

T’Challa smiled. “As entertaining as I’m sure they’d be, this number works for emergency contact only.”

“When are you leaving?”

“Within the day, we still need to make preparations but they will be short.”

“Okay, I’ll talk with my team and-” a yawn cut Jamie off. “Oh God I’m sorry.”

“Why don’t you get some rest,” T’Challa suggested gently.

“I’m not five,” Jamie protested tiredly.

“Of course not,” T’Challa agreed, nodding slightly. 

‘Fine, I’ll sleep but not for long!” She pointed a finger at T’Challa. “There are still things that need to be talked about.”

T’Challa put a hand over his heart. “I promise that we will discuss things that need to be discussed.”

Jamie gave him a lazy thumbs up and wandered back to her room. On the way there, she heard someone softly crying in the room next to her. Jamie stopped and put her ear against the door. She lightly knocked on the door.

“Come in,” They sniffled.

Jamie slowly opened the door. “It’s me, Jamie.”

Pym turned his back and sniffed loudly. Jamie slipped through the door and sat down next to Pym. 

“Hey, what’s up?”

“It’s stupid,” He mumbled. 

‘No,” Jamie corrected him gently, throwing an arm around the younger boy’s shoulders. “Whatever it is, it’s not stupid. If you want to, you can tell me about it or don’t, you don’t have to.”

Pym inhaled shakily and leaned against Jamie. 

“I had a bad dream.”

Jamie stayed silent, waiting for him to continue.

“I saw him die, my dad. I dreamt that I saw yellowjacket him,” Pym hunched in on himself and let out a quiet sob.

Jamie’s heart ached for her friend. He sounded so lost. She rubbed his back and ran a hand through his hair. 

“That’s why we’re here Pym. This time, we’ll kill Thanos so he’ll never hurt them again.”

“I know that,” Pym sighed. “But it still hurts. I went to my sister’s funeral a week ago Jamie. I didn’t have time to cry about my dad and know I see him standing there and-and he has no idea who I am,” Hot tears rolled down his cheeks.Jamie felt several hit her arm.

“I know how you feel, and it does such major dick, but just remember,” Jamie squeezed Pym. “We’ll see them again soon, someday.”

Pym gasped a breath. “Y-yeah.”

“Here,” Jamie guided Pym to lie down and laid next to him. “Get some rest, I’m right here if you need me.”

“Thanks Jamie,” Pym smiled and rested his head on her shoulder. “Azari is lucky to have you.”

Jamie felt her face heat up, she was sure she looked like a tomato. “Um,” She stuttered. 

Pym’s soft snoring answered her. Jamie rolled her eyes and scooted into a comfortable position. She felt her eyelids droop and let sleep take her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is there a character you really want to see in the story? I want to make this as involved in the Marvel Universe as I can.


	18. Chapter 18

"I only see my goals, I don't believe in failure

'Cause I know the smallest voices, they can make it major

I got my boys with me at least those in favor

And if we don't meet before I leave, I hope I'll see you later"

\- 7 Years Old by Lukas Graham

Jamie opened her eyes slowly, blinking away the fogginess of sleep. She felt a weight on her right shoulder when she tried to move. Jamie looked down and saw Pym laying his head on her shoulder, sound asleep. Jamie smiled softly and ran a hand through Pym’s raven black hair.  _ He looks so peaceful and happy.  _ Pym opened one eye then the other. 

“Uh, thanks for letting me sleep on you,” He smiled sheepishly.

“Don’t mention it, you’re my baby brother Pym.”

Pym made a face and Jamie laughed. “We aren’t related. And I’m not even that much younger than you are!”

“Shh,” Jamie patted Pym’s face. “You’re still a baby.”

Pym scoffed and lazily swatted Jamie’s arm away. “Ugh.”

**Miss Jamie and Mister Pym, there is breakfast in the kitchen. I would recommend hurrying since Miss Torrun and Miss May have already eaten most of the breakfast.**

Jamie and Pym chuckled. 

“Fri, tell them to leave some for the rest of us,” Jamie smiled and rolled out of bed. 

Pym sat up and scratched his scalp. He followed Jamie out of the room and down the hallway.

Jamie inhaled the savory smell of eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns. May and Torrun had plates piled high with food and were stuffing their faces. Francis sat next to Torrun, pausing every few seconds to stare at Torrun as she ate.

“Here,” Azari walked up to Jamie and Pym with two plates of food. “I saved you some before Torrun and May could eat it all.”

Jamie took her plate and smiled gratefully. “Thanks, who made this?”

“Me,” Francis yelled as he slid out of the kitchen on socked feet. 

**Mister Francis, I feel obligated to mention that you caught the eggs on fire** **_twice_ ** **.**

Francis glared up at the ceiling. “Friday! I thought we were buddies!”   
**My apologies.**

Jamie snorted and dug into her food. She dodged Torrun’s outstretched fork when she tried to grab some food off of Jamie’s plate.

“Get yer own,” She yelled through a mouth full of food. 

“Is that food I smell?” Sam asked as he entered the room. 

Azari glanced into the kitchen. “There is still some eggs left.”

May’s head shot up. “No the fuck there isn’t, Dibs!” She catapulted herself from her seat.

Azari shrugged to Sam apologetically. “Never mind.”

Sam shook his head with amusement. “Don’t sweat it, I’ll grab something later.”

Azari walked over to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup. While he was walking back to Jamie, Pym shot a hand out and stole Azari’s cup and took a big gulp. He grunted happily, pushed the mug back into Azari’s hands, and walked away. Azari stared at Pym in shock.

“My coffee,” He whispered then shrugged and took a sip.

“Does anyone know how to use this contraption?” Torrun asked, glaring at the microwave with a frown.

“The microwave?” Sam said slowly.

“Aye, what are all these buttons,” Torrun muttered. 

“Did someone make breakfast?”

Jamie turned around and smiled at Peter who walked into the kitchen rubbing his eye. 

“Not anymore,” May punctuated her sentence with a loud belch. 

“Seven out of ten,” Francis commented.

“Seven? That was at least an eight,” Pym argued, rummaging the cupboards for more food. 

Azari glared at the three heroes. “How am I friends with you people.”

Jamie threw an arm over Azari’s shoulder. “They grow on you, like a rash.”

“Friend Peter, I am making the attempt to make oatmeal but I admit I cannot figure out this strange contraption.”

“You mean the microwave,” Peter asked in the same tone Sam did. 

“This is a microwave? But it has buttons!” 

“Microwaves in the future don’t have buttons,” Sam nearly gasped.

“They’re touch screen,” Jamie answered.

“Holy shit, the future sounds awesome!” Peter grinned.

“I need coffee,” Tony groaned, shuffling into the kitchen like a zombie. “Too loud,” He pointed at Peter. Bruce followed him into the kitchen and made himself a bowl of cereal. 

Tony poured himself a cup, took a sip, and moaned loudly.

“Do you need a moment alone,” Jamie joked, smiling.

Tony’s phone began to ring, he pulled it out and stuck his tongue out at Jamie.

“Stark,” He answered. “Strange? How the hell did you get my number? What do you mean that doesn’t matter, how the fuck- wait the who? Hold on, I’m handing you to Jamie,” He shoved the phone into her hands.

“Strange?”

“Jamie, I’m looking at a mad raccoon and a talking tree. I think you need to come here.”

Jamie sighed and looked at Azari. “That sounds like the guardians, we’ll be right there.”

“This ought to be fun,” Azari groaned. 

‘Who are the guardians,” Sam asked Jamie.

“A team of assholes from outer space,” She turned to Tony. “hey Tony, wanna come with us? I think you’ll like ‘em.”

Tony swallowed the rest of his coffee. “Sure, lemme just get,” Tony waved a hand at himself.

“Can I come,” Peter turned to Jamie with puppy eyes. “They’re from space!”

“Space isn’t that great,” Tony grumbled.

“Hey,” Torrun protested.

“T, you were born in space,” Francis reminded her. 

“Oh yeah.”

“Woah, you were born in  _ space _ ,” Sam asked excitedly.

Torrun nodded. “Father was still looking for New Asgard and I was born on the vessel.”

“New Asgard, what the hell happened to old Asgard,” Tony looked askance at Torrun.

“Uh,” Bruce spoke up, “we kind of broke it.”

“How do you break a planet,” Sam frowned in confusion.

“Technically, Surtur was the one to raise Asgard,” Torrun pointed out. 

“True,” Bruce acknowledged.

“I am so lost,” Tony admitted, staring at Torrun. 

“Big fire demon destroyed Asgard to kill Thor’s sister,” Bruce summed up.

“Thor has a sister?”

“Had, she was kinda crazy.”

“Agreed,” Torrun nodded. 

‘Why not,” Tony threw his hand up.

Jamie chuckled at Tony’s confusion. “I’ll go get ready to leave.”

She walked out the room and Francis followed her. 

“Hey Jamie,” He said once they were out of earshot.

“Yeah?”

“I-I’m worried about Torrun.”

Jamie stopped and looked at Francis. “How come?”

“Thor’s with the guardians isn’t he?”

Jamie nodded. 

“Damn. I know she hasn’t dealt with his death.”

Jamie couldn’t help the twitch of her lips. “I don’t think any of us have. Just watch out for her.”

Francis shook his head with a sad smile. “True. And we’re about to meet the guardians,  _ again _ .”

Jamie inhaled deeply. “I don’t know where I find the strength to keep seeing everyone again.”

“Well look at you,” Francis gently nudged her in the ribs. “Soundin’ like Azari!”

“Bite me,” Jamie smiled. 

“There it is,” Francis smiled back at her. “But seriously, if you ever need anything, find me.”

Jamie gave Francis a mock salute. “Yessir.”

“Get ready you asshole,” Francis pushed her away. 

Jamie smiled, flipped him off, and walked into her room. She sighed and ran a hand over her face. Jamie walked over to the dresser and slowly put on her uniform, taking care to zip and buckle it. A knock on the door startled her out of her thoughts. 

“Yeah?”

“Jet’s fueled, ready to go?” Tony asked.

Jamie looked at herself in the mirror. 

“Be right there.”

Jamie opened her door and smiled at Tony. Together, they walked to the jet where the rest were waiting. Peter was practically vibrating with excitement. 

“Excited,” Jamie asked wryly.

‘Yes,” Peter yelled, “this is going to be so cool!”

“Let’s go meet the guardians,” Tony said with notably less excitement. 


	19. Chapter 19

**"Hello, daddy. Hello, mom.**  
I'm your ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb!  
Hello world! I'm your wild girl.  
I'm your ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb!"

**\- Cherry Bomb by The Runaways**

 

‘Wait, so one of them is a raccoon?” Peter asked for the hundredth time. 

“Yep,” Jamie sighed. “But don’t call him that or else he’ll shoot you in the dick.”

Peter swallowed audibly. Tony snorted and patted Peter’s shoulder.

“What’s their deal? Where are they from?”

“Quill’s from Earth, I have no idea where the rest of them are from,” Francis offered.

“Who’s Quill?”

“He is the leader of the guardians,” Azari answered. 

Jamie grinned. “He’s called Star Prince.”

Azari glared at Jamie but he didn’t say anything. 

“Star Prince,” Tony asked skeptically.  

Jamie shrugged “Don’t ask me, he’s the one from space.”

Tony shook his head. “Fri, how far away are we from Strange?”

**Approximately ten minutes Boss.**

“Wonderful,” Tony sighed. 

“You don’t like Doctor Strange?” Pym asked innocently.

“No,” Tony growled. “He’s an asshole. And not a doctor anymore!”

Jamie snorted. “Of course you don’t.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” Jamie grinned. She glanced around and noticed Torrun and May talking together quietly. Jamie looked at Francis. 

“Thor,” He mouthed.

Jamie sighed then nodded.  _ She’s the last one to meet her parents. Here we go again.  _

Peter took his mask out of his backpack. “Should I be spiderman or peter for meeting them?”

“Be spiderman,” Tony answered immediately. “It’s better if people don’t know who you really are.”

“Tony, you literally announced to the world you’re iron man,” Jamie argued.

Tony shrugged. “I’m an idiot, don’t ever do what I do unless you’re at a party.”

“In that case, definitely don’t do what you do,” May commented, sitting down next to Francis. She gently nudged him and nodded towards Torrun. He got up and walked over to her.

Tony made a face. “True.”

**Boss, incoming transmission from Wakanda.**

“Play it Fri.”

“Greetings Mr.Stark, I and the other avengers have landed in Wakanda.”

“Any bumps?”

“...nothing I could not handle.”

Tony snorted. “Rogers is a handful.”

“Indeed. I will keep communications open, T’challa out.”

“See ya later kitty kat.”

“Things are coming together,” Jamie said to herself. 

“That’s not creepy,” Peter said, looking at Jamie. 

Jamie made a face at the boy. 

**We have arrived Boss, looking for a place to land.**

“Why didn't we just portal to his place? It would've been faster,” Pym wondered. 

“I will not go through another of Strangers portals. Not over my dead body,” Tony said with finality. 

“I like them,” Peter muttered sullenly. 

The plane landed with a gentle thud. 

“Better than May could ever land,” Francis jeered, smiling at May. 

“As if,” She shot back, flipping the other teen off. 

“Tony, May just flipped me off,” Francis whined like a toddler, pointing at May. 

“Don't make me turn this plane around, damn kids,” Tony tried to glare at them but he couldn't fight the smile on his lips. The back of the plane lowered and sunlight streamed into the cabin. Jamie was the first one out the door, blinking at the sunlight. Azari and Tony were right behind her.  As they came closer, the door to the sanctum flew open and an angry Strange marched out.

“They are breaking my things more than last time,” He ground out.

Jamie bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing. 

“I’m sorry?”

“Just,” Strange threw a hand toward the door. ‘Please get them out og my sanctum.”

“I’ll get right on that,” Jamie patted Strange’s shoulder sympathetically. 

He sighed in defeat. They walked to the door, Jamie could practically feel the smug smile Tony gave Strange. 

“Ready,” She asked at the door, looking at Torrun.

“Aye,” Torrun said slowly, staring at the door.

Jamie nodded and pushed inside. The guardians were standing in a circle with Thor, talking loudly. 

“Hey Quill, no offense but Earth is pretty shit,” Rocket said as he examined the sanctum. 

“No offense? How am I not supposed to be offended?” Peter protested. 

“We have company,” Gamora stared at Jamie, hand inching toward her weapon. 

“We mean no harm,” Jamie said immediately, putting her hands up. “Did Strange say we were coming?”

“The guy with a sick cape?” Quill asked.

Jamie nodded.

“Yeah he did, it was pretty  _ Strange _ ,” Rocket cackled at his own joke.

Francis huffed a laugh. Azari glared at him.

‘What? It was funny!”

“I like that kid,” Rocket announced, pointing to Francis. 

“Hell yeah,” Francis grinned, giving Rocket a thumbs up.

‘Guys,” Gamora and Jamie said at the same time.

“Are you heroes of Earth,” Thor pushed ahead of the Guardians and eyed the rest warily.

Jamie felt Torrun tense up behind her.

“In a manner of speaking,” Jamie evaded. 

“Answer the question,” Gamora barked.

“Hey guys, chill,” Quill said quickly, putting a hand on Gamora’s arm. “Who are you guys.”

“I am Tony Stark, iron man, and this is Spiderman,” Tony said, gesturing to Peter. 

“And we,”Jamie spoke up, “are from the future.”

The entire room was silent for about three seconds before Rocket and Quill burst out laughing. 

“From the future,” Rocket cackled, “that’s the stupidest shit I’ve ever heard!”

“What is you proof,” Thor asked skeptically.

“In our time, you did defeat Thanos the  _ first  _ time. But the second time,” Jamie swallowed, “you didn't’. We went back in time to make sure that didn’t happen.”

“This is insane!” Gamora protested. “They don’t have any proof of this.”

“I am proof,” Torrun spoke up, breaking free from the group and walking up to her father. “My name is Torrun daughter of Thor. I fought my battles as best I could but he, Thanos, bested me. I am back to revenge your death.” By the end of her speak, tears were shinning in her eyes.

Thor went ghostly pale. “You-you are my daughter? What madness is this!”

“This is no madness,” Torrun cried, drawing her sword. “Gaze upon this sword that was forged in the fires of New Asgard. You gave me this when I left for Earth.”

Thor stared at the sword, then looked up to Torrun. She stared back at him, shaking slightly. Thor lunged forward and enveloped her in a bear hug. “You must tell me everything,” He whispered. Torrun nodded, not trusting her voice to work. 

“Why don’t we give them a moment,” Francis suggested, turing to Strange. 

“This way,” Strange led them down a hallway into a large room with artifacts in glass cases. Pym ran a finger along one of the cases. 

“Don’t break anything,” Strange snapped.

Pym took back his hand like the glass had bit him. Jamie chuckled softly at his antics. 

“So,” Quill began, looking around. “What’s the deal?”

“Well,” Jamie sighed, “the heroes on Earth know about Thanos, the infinity stones, and the Black Order-”

“Black Order?” Drax asked, leaning against a display and twirling a knife. 

“Thanos has groupies,” Francis inputted. “There’s about six beings who follow him and carry out his orders.”

“Right,” Jamie agreed. “We already met one in Tibet, Ebony Maw.”

“What kind of name is that,” Rocket muttered, wrinkling his nose. 

“And we have good reason to assume that Black Dwarf is in Wakanda,” Azari said, running a hand through his hair.

“Where?”

“It’s a country in Africa that holds the strongest substance known to man,” Azari explained. 

“What is this substance called,” Gamora asked urgently.

“Vibranium.”

Gamora sighed and cursed. “I heard Thanos talk about Vibranium before. I dismissed it, but know that I know it is on Earth,” She shook her head.

“What does Thanos want with vibranium,” Azari looked at Gamora. 

She shrugged. “Weapons, I’m guessing but I don't know for certain.”

“No matter what Thanos wants with Wakanda, there’s a group waiting for Black Dwarf,” Jamie began to pace around, biting her lip anxiously. 

“How many stones does Thanos have,” Pym asked aloud. 

“Best case scenario, one,” Quill offered.

“And worst case scenario?” Tony raised his eyebrows.

“Three.”

“Well shit,” Jamie groaned. 

“Which stones,” Peter inquired. 

Quill frowned, thinking of his answer. “The power stone, the space stone, and the reality stone.”

“Wonderful,” Tony threw his hands up.

‘Well,” Strange drawled. “He does not have the time or mind stone yet, so that must be something.”

“How do you know,” Drax demanded. 

Strange pointed to his amulet. ‘This is the Eye of Agamotto. It’s the time stone.”

“ _ You  _ have the time stone,” Gamora scoffed. “A  mere mortal?”

“Hey,” Strange protested. “This mere mortal is Sorcerer Supreme, what are you besides an annoyance?”

“I am a warrior you scum,” Gamora snarled, taking a step towards Strange.

“Woah, woah, woah,” Quill quickly jumped in front of Gamora.

“Strange,” Jamie said warningly.

The sorcerer shrugged unapologetically. 

Gamora continued to glare at Strange but she sheathed her blades. Jamie looked at Tony and motioned for him to say something.

“Uh, and Vision has the mind stone,” Tony stuttered, looking at Jamie with confusion. 

‘Vision is an android brought to life by the mind stone,” Jamie told them in a bored tone before anyone could ask any questions.

“That is so cool,” Quill breathed. 

“Earth is bizarre,” Gamora sniffed. 

“Yeah,” Francis nodded. 

Tony glanced at Francis then turned to Jamie. “So what should we do know?”

“Why should we listen to you,” Drax challenged.

“Because,” Azari said icily. “We are from the future. We know the mistakes you are going to make and we will insure that this time you do not make them.”

Drax pouted but remained silent. 

‘Thanks,” Jamie smiled at Azari.  “We already have people waiting for Black Dwarf. So that leaves Ebony Maw, Proxima Midnight, Corvus Glaive and Thanos himself.”

“Corvus Glaive is Thanos’ right hand man, he will be with Thanos,” Gamora told Jamie. “I’ve seen him when I was younger.”

“They’re a package deal,” Jamie summed up. ‘What about the others?”

“They,” Gamora bit her lip, unsure of herself. “The others are children of Thanos. Mine and Nebula’s siblings.”

“So family drama?” Rocket scoffed. “You have one fucked up family.”

“I want Proxima Midnight,” Gamora said darkly, glaring at everyone expecting someone to object.

“Deal, where’s Nebula?”

Quill shuffled his feet. “We may have left her chained to a chair on the ship.”

“So you’re saying she’s trustworthy?” Tony asked sarcastically.

“She is,” Gamora defended her sister. “Sort of.”

“That makes me feel so much better.”

“Hey, she’s with Mantis,” Quill protested.

“Who the hell is Mantis,” Strange stared at Quill like he was crazy. 

‘She is an ugly woman who can sense feelings by touch,” Drax explained in a flat tone.

“Gee, you must really like her,” Francis joked.

“Not really.”

Francis rolled his eyes. 

“I want a shot at Thanos. I will kill him,” Drax stepped forward.

“How about you, Quill, Strange, Tony, and Spiderman go after Thanos. We’ll-” Jamie pointed to Azari, Pym, and Francis, “go after Corvus Glaive?”

“Is that how it went in you past,” Strange asked, fiddling with the Eye of Agamotto. 

“Yeah, well it worked pretty well last time.”

“Didn’t we all die last time,” Tony pointed out.

Jamie glared at Tony. “That was the second time. The second time that  _ will not happen. _ ”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Wow thanks. Who wants to go after Ebony?”

“Which freak is that?” Rocket asked as he sat down.

“Feeling old Rocket?” Quill snarked, grinning.

“Bite me Quill.”

“Ebony is the one who possesses the power mind,” Torrun strode into the room, Thor following her in.

“You alright?” Jamie whispered to Torrun when she stopped next to her.

Torrun nodded minutely. 

“What about Vision,” Thor suggested. “He still has the mind stone, does he not?”

“He does,” Jamie said slowly. “But I don't want to just volunteer him to do something when  he isn't here.”

“What if, for for the sake of argument, we put Vision against Ebony? So we at least know who is battling who,” Azari offered, gesturing with a hand. 

“I’ll go.”

“Rocket, what are you thinking,” Gamora spun around to face him. 

“Listen sweetheart, I want to end Thanos just as much anybody else but i’ll settle for sending one of his kids to hell early.”

“Im guessing you also want Groot to go with you,” Jamie smiled softly.

“No, but I guess he’s best off with me.”

“How responsible of you Rocket,” Quill grinned at the small hero. 

Rocket flipped Quill off.

“Vision, Rocket, Groot, who else?” Francis’s eyebrows furrowed as he thought. “Wait, what about Wanda?”

Jamie hummed in consideration. “That could work. And Mantis, didn’t you say she had some sort of telepathic power?” 

“Some,” Drax agreed. 

“I can accompany Lady Gamora to defeat Proxima Midna,” Thor volunteered. “And so will my brother Loki.”

“Loki,” Torrun gasped, a smile spreading across her face.

“Loki,” Tony cursed, rubbing a hand over his forehead.

“Mixed reactions,” Gamora observed, raising an eyebrow.

Tony grumbled to himself but stopped when Thor glared at him. 

“My dad can go with you guys,” Pym blurted out. “I mean Ant Man.”

“Who is this Ant Man?”

“He’s another superhero, he was at the airport.....” Jamie trailed off, looking at Tony who was shaking his head. 

“Airport?”

Tony cursed under his breath. “Hey Point Break, uh-”

“Wait, everybody hold on,” Rocket yelled, spinning around. “Where the hell is Groot?”

“You lost your talking tree in my sanctum?” Strange asked in a flat tone. His right eye was twitching.

“We’ll find him Mustache, just give us a few minutes,” Rocket waved Strange away.

“Mustache?!” Strange huffed, sounding offended.

“Let's split up, and go find Groot,” Jamie cut in before Strange could explode.


	20. Chapter 20

**Here we go, here we go**

**It's my turn to make history**

**Here we go, here we go**

**When I'm gone they'll remember me, yeah**

**-“Legend” by The Score**

Somehow, Jamie ended up looking for Groot with Gamora, May, Quill, and Peter. 

“Groot, where the hell are you,” Quill called.

“I hate teenagers,” Gamora grumbled. 

They continued to search through the sanctum. As they walked, Jamie noticed Gamora sneaking glances at May. She just waited for May to notice.

“Can I help you,” May said bluntly, looking at Gamora.

Jamie turned slightly to hide her smirk. Gamora was startled but quickly recovered. 

“What planet are you from?”

“Earth, I was turned into this in a lab accident.”

“Okay that really blows but at the time that is so  _ awesome _ ,” Quill gushed.

Gamora glared at Quill like he was a child.

“Yeah, it's been fantastic.”

“So what are you,” Gamora asked bluntly, ignoring May’s sarcasm. 

“Well, on the full moon i turn into a giant jelly fish so that's fun.”

Jamie and Peter tried to hide their laughter as a sudden coughing fit.

Gamora rolled her eyes.

May smirked. “No, it's more like Hyde and Jeckel.”

“Who and who?”

May gave Quill and Gamora a withering look. “Read a book. It's about a man, or in my case a woman, who has two different people inside them. My father is more extreme, Banner and Hulk have a different body  _ and  _ conscious. With me, its the same body but a different conscious.”

“How can we tell which one you are?” Peter asked, eyes widening with curiosity. 

May scratched her head. “I’ve been told that She-Hulk has red eyes and elongated teeth.”

“Awesome,” Peter and Quill breathed. 

“It's like being with a toddler,” Gamora muttered under her breath.

“Groot,” Jamie yelled, peeking down a hallway. 

“What does half of this stuff even do,” Quill picked up a dark green circular object. It looked like a jade cd. 

May shrugged. “Eh, it's all magical shit.”

“Alright Tony,” Jamie smiled at May. 

Quill put the disk back on a case. It teetered on the edge and slipped off, falling to the ground but not shattering. 

“Quill,” Gamora said, exasperated. 

“That was no me,” Quill exclaimed. “It was gravity!” 

“I got it,” Peter bent to pick up the disk. As soon as his fingers touched it, the disk disappeared and a pothole sized portal opened up. Peter flailed, trying not to fall though.

“Peter!” 

“What?” Quill stared at Jamie.

Jamie lunged for him, grabbing the boy by the arm. She yanked Peter back, lifting him slightly off the ground. The portal disappeared and the disk popped up. May darted forward, grabbed the disk, and slammed it on top of a glass display.

“Strange,” Peter yelled, “why does everything want to kill us!”

Quill pointed to Peter. “You’re name is Peter too!”

“Yeah it is! Dude this is so cool.”

“Oh god,” Gamora’s tired sigh was drowned out by Peter Quill.

“Dude, this is awesome!”

“I know right! We have the same name, crazyyy.”

“We’ve created a monster,” May said sadly.

Jamie nodded in agreement. Something in the corner of her eye moved. She turned and saw a flash of brown. 

“Groot!” 

Jamie ran after him, the rest following her. She turned the corner and there was Groot, sitting cross legged on the floor staring at a pad. 

“Groot, don't wander off,” Quill scolded, putting his hands on his hips.

Groot gave Quill an unimpressed look and an even more unimpressed “ _ I am Groot.”  _

_ “ _ Don't use that tone of voice with me,” Quill argued. “Rocket was worried about you, we all were.”

“I  _ am  _ Groot.”

“I dont care! You live in our space ship you follow our rules!” 

“I am  _ Groottt _ .”

“Groot, you're lucky we are not grounding you. C’mon.” Quill tapped his foot expectantly. 

Groot humphed, got up, and followed Quill. His arms were crossed and he was obviously pouting. 

Jamie, May, and Peter giggled at Groot’s antics. 

“He is just like a teenager,” Peter laughed.

“Peter, you're a teenager,” Jamie told him. 

“Nu uh, i'm an avenger!”

“Technically.”

Peter glared at Jamie. “Don't ruin my moment.”

“Alright,” Jamie chuckled. “Lets go catch up with them.”

The three hurried after Quill. Peter glared at the jade disk as they passed it. Everyone met in the display room. Rocket immediately went over to Groot and began fussing with him. Jamie smiled at Rocket and Groot, shrugging when Groot looked at her for help.

“We’ll head back to the compound,” Tony was telling Drax. “Is there a way we can call you?”  

“Quill, what is that strange device that makes irritating sounds?”

“You mean my radio?” Quill walked over to Tony and Drax. “Here’s my radio frequency,” Quill pulled put a fuzzy purple pen and grabbed Tony’s hand. 

“I could've put into my phone you know.”

Quill stopped writing. “No, no i did not. But shut up, I already have four numbers down.”

Tony rolled his eyes but let Quill finish writing. 

“We’ll keep you posted,” Jamie told Gamora. 

She nodded. “We might look at Earth,is there anywhere that is not infested with bed bugs?”

“Uh, what?”

“Bed bugs,” Gamora said, like it was obvious. “Quill said there are bed bugs on Earth.”

Jamie shook her head, grinning. “Just don't sleep in motels and you'll be fine.”

Gamora nodded, but she did not look convinced. 

“Let's get going kiddos,” Tony clapped his hands. 

“I can portal you back,” Strange offered.

“No,” Tony said immediately, backing away from Strange. 

Strange scoffed loudly. 

“Alright,” Jamie quickly went in between them. “Lets go, yeah?”

“We’ll leave on our  _ plane _ ,” Tony said over his shoulder. 

“My friends, may I accompany you home? I wish to see everyone again,” Thor asked, wringing his hands. 

“Of course Father,” Torrun beamed. “And what happened to your hair?”

“A mean man cut it off,” Thor said sourly. 

Jamie waved goodbye to the Guardians and Strange as she walked out of the sanctum. 

“The plane is this way,” Tony led them down the sidewalk. 

A car sped past them, someone stuck their head out the window and yelled: “Freak!”

Everyone looked at each other. 

“Well that's just rude,” May frowned at the car then stuck a middle finger in the air. 

“Atta girl,”Jamie laughed, patting May on the back. 

“Here we go,” Tony stopped in front an empty parking lot. He pressed his watch and the plane materialized into view. They climbed inside, May and Francis sitting at the controls, and lifted off. 

“Who is at the compound,” Thor asked.

“There’s Wanda, Vision,Scott, and Sam,” May answered from the cockpit. 

“Where are the others?”

They all looked Tony.

He cleared his throat. “Most of them are in Wakanda to fight Black Dwarf.”

Thor didn't press the issue. Tony sank into his seat in weariness. The ride back to the compound was relatively quiet. Thor and Torrun were catching up. Thor had seemed to pick up on Torrun and Francis, he was ‘subtly’ trying to interrogate Francis. 

“Landing now,” May announced.

Francis sighed, relieved. “Thank God.”

May and Francis landed the plane on the pad. 

“Don’t mention it lover boy,” May smirked.

“I will kill you and make it look like an accident,” Francis threatened with a burning red face. 

‘Kinky,” May snarked, unbuckling from her seat. 

“Sleep with one eye open Banner,” Francis yelled walking out of the cockpit. 

‘Banner?” Thor looked at May.

“I’m his adopted daughter.”

“Are all of you children of the avengers?”

“More or less.”

“I’m Rogers’s daughter,” Jamie told Thor with a smile. 

“Son of T’Challa,” Azari said while passing.

“He’s Ant Man's son,” Jamie pointed to Pym.

“And I’m Barton’s kid,” Francis called. 

“Let’s go home,” Tony motioned dramatically to the door. 

They walked out of the plane and onto solid ground. Jamie breathed in deeply.

“Ah,” She sighed. ‘Home sweet home.”

“It has not changed much through the years Stark,” Thor grinned and clapped Tony on the back.

“Jesus Thor, puny human remember? And I have changed it! New paint job.”

“I do not see it.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “That’s because you don’t have a creative bone in your body.”

“Welcome back boss,” Happy greeted them as they walked inside. 

“Hey Happy!”

They all ended up in the kitchen/living room area.

“Friday, can you tell all the free loaders we’re back?”

**Already done it Boss.**

“That’s my girl.”

Jamie broke away from the group and searched for something to eat. She was starving! Jamie found a granola bar with a small triumphant “yes!”

“Well look what the cat dragged in,” Sam drawled, sauntering into the room. 

“Keep it up birdman,” Tony scowled.

The smile fell from Sam’s face, he awkwardly shuffled his feet where he stood. Then Tony broke into a grin and Sam relaxed. 

“Very funny Stark.”

“Eh, what can I say. I’m hilarious.”

“How were the guardians,” Sam turned to Jamie.

“They were good.”

“They have a talking tree,” Peter blurted out excitedly. 

“Dude, seriously?”

“Yeah! It was amazing.”

“His name is Groot,” Azari told them. 

‘Naturally.”

“So,” Jamie sat on a stool, “we’ve made tentative plans for teams to fight against Thanos and the black order.”

“Alright,” Sam crossed his arms. “Let’s hear it then.”

‘Where’s Wanda, Vision, and Scott?”

“Here,” Wanda called, walking into the room with Scott and Vision. “We heard you were back.”

“Good, so here’s the teams. Vision, Rocket, Groot, Wanda, Mantis, and maybe Valkyrie if she’s willing. You’ll fight Ebony Maw, the one who we fought in Tibet. Gamora, Nebula, Thor, Antman, and Loki will go against Proxima Midna.”

“Who?” Scott asked timidly. “And why do i have to fight them?”

“Proxima Midna is Gamora’s and Nebula’s sister. We figured you could help them since you can shrink and grow.”

Scott nodded but he still didn’t look happy. 

“Why are we against Maw,” Wanda asked suspiciously.

“Ebony has the power of the mind, he can manipulate them,” Torrun explained.

“Yeah, she has experience with that,” Tony muttered.

Wanda glared at him. 

“We were thinking that you and Vision would be the best to fight him, given your powers,” Jamie said in a sharp tone, daring Wanda to say anything.

“That is smart,” Wanda acknowledged, still glaring at Tony. 

“Tony, Quill, Spiderman, Drax, and Strange will fight Thanos. We’ll get Corvus.”

“I’ll join Cap in Wakanda,” Sam spoke up. 

“Of course he does,” Tony scoffed quietly.

Sam heard him but didn’t say anything. 

“I will call King T’Challa,” Azari told Sam. “We might be able to arrange a meeting, and you can come along.”

“Thanks.”

“What do we do until Thanos,” Wanda wondered, nervously tapping her foot. 

“Wait,” Jamie shrugged. “That’s all we can do really, wait and get ready for one hell of a fight.”

“I detest waiting,” Torrun scowled.

“Don’t we all,” May patted Torrun’s shoulder sympathetically. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUESS WHO IS UPDATING REGULARLY NOW?? ME BITCHES YEAHHHHH. Sorry, just proud of myself :DDD. I'll have more time now to write so yay! Anyway, my goal is to have this story finished, if not almost done then, by the time Infinity Wars comes out. The next couple of chapters will focus on relationships between the heroes, new and old. See you next time! XO


	21. Chapter 21

**"And I have seen it all before**

**Before the war**

**Cold, hearted earth**

**I'm the master of the universe**

**And I have seen it all before**

**Before the war"**

**Helloween “Before the War”**

They didn’t hear anything for  _ three  _ weeks. It was quiet, no one had made a move. Things were getting tense, everyone was preparing for something,  _ anything _ , to happen at any moment. Azari, May, and Jamie were training in the gym. May was up on the ropes, flipping and spinning like a true gymnast. Jamie and Azari were sparring each other. 

Jamie was frustrated, she had tension throughout her entire body.  _ Why can’t something just fucking happen already!  _ Jamie was so distracted that Azari landed a hit. Jamie’s body rocked backward and she grunted in surprise.

“You are distracted,” Azari stated, breathing heavy from the exercise. 

Jamie smiled slightly. “Sorry, can’t stop thinking.” She half-heartedly lunged at Azari. He easily side stepped her with a ‘tsk’.

“Then stop thinking,” He said like it was that simple.

Jamie snorted. “It’s not that easy. I just want something to happen  _ already _ !”

“Something is happening,” Azari contradicted her, smirking. “I am beating you.”

“Oh ho!” Jamie laughed loudly. She and Azari began to circle each other. “Getting cocky now are we?”

“It is not cocky if I am correct. I have landed a hit, you have not,” Azari spread his arms out slightly, in a mocking gesture. 

“Why you little-” Jamie feigned right then slammed into Azari. He grabbed her by the shoulders and tried to use her momentum against her but Jamie took his arm and sent her flying with her. They both landed in a crouch, panting heavily. 

“Better,” Azari praised, smirking. 

Jamie felt a tingle run up her spine like lighting. Azari jumped at her, Jamie dropped to the ground and Azari went sailing over her. Jamie turned around and ran at Azari while he was faced the other way. Azari waited until the last second, launching himself vertically. 

“Oh shit,” Jamie cursed as her momentum kept her moving and tripped over herself. 

Azari landed on top of her, grabbing an arm and pinning it behind Jamie’s back.

“Got you,” He whispered into her ear.

His breath made goosebumps erupt across her skin. 

“Gonna let me up,” She groaned, twisting her hips. 

Azari hummed, like he was considering his options. 

“Hey guys, have any of you seen-”Francis walked into the gym and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Azari and Jamie. He grinned and Jamie instantly knew he was about to be an asshole.

“My eyes,’ He screeched, flinging his hands over his face and backing away. 

“Dramatic,” Azari said dryly. 

Jamie used his temporary distraction to buck her hips up. Azari lost his grip on her and she quickly pushed him to the ground and straddled him, pinning his hands above his head.

‘Got you,” She teased. 

Azari stared at her with a dazed expression, mouth hanging wide open. He started to say something but cold water was thrown at their faces. Jamie jerked away with a curse.  _ What the FUCK?  _ May stood there holding a water bottle and smiling. 

“Wanna do a free for all?”

Jamie spluttered, wiping water out of her eyes. 

“I’ll get Torrun and Pym,” Francis yelled, running out of the room. 

Jamie got to her feet and offered a hand to Azari. He slowly took her hand and pulled himself up, turing his body away from Jamie slightly. May threw Azari a towel.   
“Might want to dry off,” She sing-songed.

Azari’s face blushed a bright red. “You are  _ despicable _ .”

May waggled her eyebrows at him. 

“What am I missing?” Jamie looked at the two of them.

“Nothing big, I’m sure,” May said matter-of-factly.

Azari made a strange choking sound. “I hate you, you are a vile creature.”

Torrun, Francis, and Pym walked into the gym, talking loudly. 

“My friends, shall we battle,” Torrun asked boisterously. 

“I will kick your ass,” Francis promised her, grinning. 

“Language,” Jamie yelled. “There’s children here!”

Pym stuck his tongue at Jamie then quickly flipped her off. 

“Pym,” May gasped loudly. 

“What are you guys doing?” Peter asked, walking in with Sam and Tony following.

“A free for all,” Azari responded, looking less red than he did before. 

“A what?” Sam looked at them. 

“We’ll show you, maybe you’d even like to join,” May grinned lecherously.

“Why does everything you say sound like an offer for an orgy,” Francis sighed next to May.

“It’s a talent,” She said instantly. “And  _ you’re  _ one to talk.’

Jamie climbed on the ropes around the fight ring and cupped her hands over her mouth. “Attention Fighters, you know the rules! Either you get knocked down or say ‘coulson’s left cheek’ to tap out. We have five minutes, GO!” Jamie yelled. 

The effect was instantaneous, everyone sprinted to the furthest corner of the gym. Peter, Tony, and Sam stood by the door, looking confused. 

‘For Asgard,” Torrun cried, sprinting at Azari. 

Azari laughed as he ran away from her. Pym shrank down and buzzed around Francis. Francis cursed and tried to swat Pym down. Jamie stood exactly where she was, if she strained she could barely hear May on the ropes above her. Jamie tensed, ready to jump, as she waited for May to pounce. She heard the soft twang of rope and sprinted away as fast as she could. 

“Shit,” May hit the ground where Jamie had been standing seconds ago with a thud. “C’mere Blondie!”

“Never!” Jamie cackled. She raced to the ropes and began to climb one as quickly as she could. A few feet away from her, Pym was flying above Francis, occasionally swooping down to smack him. Jamie looked down and May was staring up at her, grinning, with both hands on the rope. She began to twirl the rope, making Jamie spin in dizzying circles. Jamie waited until Pym flew back up to her height then let go, crashing into Pym. They both went careening downwards. Pym landed on the ground on his back, knocking the wind out of him. Jamie landed on a crouch next to him. 

“You okay Pym?”

‘Coulson’s left cheek,” He wheezed, giving Jamie a small thumbs up.

Jamie laughed. “Pym’s out!”

May and Francis advanced on Jamie like hungry lions. 

“I thought we were a team,” Jamie protested, backing up. ‘What happens when I go down? This alliance won’t last!”

May hummed. “You’re right.” May sweeped Francis’s legs out from under him in an almost unseeable flash of green. Francis hit the ground with a surprised yelp. He looked up at May like she had betrayed him in the worst way possible.

“I thought we were a team!”

“Whoops.”

“Francis is out!”

Jamie regarded May warily. “You go after Azari, I’ll get Torrun?”

“Deal, for now.”

May and Jamie ran to Torrun and Azari. 

“Come here pretty boy,” May laughed loudly, barreling at Azari.

“Sweet Baste-” Azari dodged May. 

Torrun faced Jamie. “Are we to fight?”

“If you’re not too scared,” Jamie grinned.

Torrun threw her head back and belly-laughed. “Then let us fight!”

Jamie and Torrun threw punches at each other, not to damage but throw off balance.

“So,” Jamie ducked to avoid Torrun’s fist and threw a punch that she deflected, “You and Francis, how long has that been going on?”

Torrun faltered briefly. “Do you not approve?”

“Oh, no no no, you guys are cute,” Jamie tried to roundhouse kick Torrun but she swatted Jamie’s leg away. ‘I was just wondering.”

“Since the fight between Stark and Rogers.”

“Aw,” Jamie gushed, hitting Torrun in the shoulder. “That is so cute.”

“What about-” Torrun blocked one of Jamie’s punches and hit the other girl in the leg “-you and Azari? Are you not together?”

“No,” Jamie sighed, dancing away from Torrun’s right hook. ‘We both agreed that we didn’t want to get together just because the world was ending.”

Torrun shrugged. “It may be the best time to fall in love.”

There was a loud crash and several curses. Jamie and Torrun stopped and looked for the source of the commotion. May and Azari were laying on their backs, panting heavily.    
“Truce,” Azari wheezed.

‘Truce,” May gasped, wincing in pain. 

“No truce,” Jamie said quickly and tackled Torrun.

Torrun fell down with Jamie, giving a short yell of surprise. Jamie landed on top of Torrun. Torrun pushed Jamie off and swung a leg out to pin Jamie on her back. 

“Technically, I won,” Jamie grinned, hearing Torrun curse her quietly. 

“Jamie’s the winner,” Pym announced, dancing around. 

“So it’s basically hunger games?” Peter asked. 

‘The what games,’” Pym stared at Peter.

“What? Even I know what the hunger games are,” Sam gaped, staring at Pym. 

“While this looks like a good ‘ol time, I have word from T’Challa,” Tony strode towards Jamie. 

“He’s asked that we come back and meet with him to talk about everything, make plans, that sort of stuff. He agreed to Sam coming along, and someone else named Ben Reilly?”

“Oh, uh, that’s me,” Peter raised his hand awkwardly.

“What?”

“I kind of, erm, hacked into your email and put my name there? Well not my name but-”

“You hacked into my email,” Tony asked slowly, staring at Peter.

“Yes? But it was only one time, I really want to go to Wakanda, I mean it’s Wakanda!”

“How did you hack into my emails!?”

“With your password? It’s really not that hard,” Peter winced after he spoke. “I mean, no offense Mr.Stark!”

“Huh,” Tony nodded at Peter approvingly. “Good job, don’t do that again, but good job.”

Peter grinned so wide Jamie thought he would split his face. 

‘When do we depart,” Azari asked, slightly anxious.

Tony looked his watch. “Uh, ten minutes.”

“WHAT?!”

Tony looked Peter dead in the eye. “Nine minutes.”

Everyone raced out of the room with Tony cackling maniacally behind them. 

“What should I wear, what should I pack,” Peter hyperventilated.

“Dude, just bring your suit and like two days worth of clothes,” Sam patted his shoulder.

“Two days. Two DAYS? But-but it’s Wakanda!”

“I’m sure there’s a washing machine,” Jamie suggested.

Peter glared at her. Jamie grinned at him and shrugged, ducking into her own room. There was an empty black duffel bag sitting on her bed.

“Creepy,” Jamie muttered, but began putting her things in anyway. She packed her uniform, two days worth of clothes, and toiletries. She grabbed the bag and her shield, walking out of her room with a glance back. Azari was waiting for her in the hall.

“Excited?”

Azari nodded, a grin lighting up his face. “Very. I want to see my home again.”

“Wakanda, here we come!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was more of a happier chapter, getting to know them better and such. Next chapter there will be action!!


	22. Chapter 22

The plane ride to Wakanda was relatively peaceful, except Peter who was buzzing in his seat with excitement.

“What’s Wakanda like,” He asked Azari.

“Beautiful,” Azari answered, his eyes looked far away. “It is like no other place.”

“Aye,” Torrun agreed. “Wakanda is a beautiful place, it is no New Asgard but it still is magnificent.”

“Thank you Torrun,” Azari said sarcastically. 

“Let’s not start this again,” Jamie commanded, looking at the two. 

“I was not doing anything!” Torrun protested.

“Torrun, do you not remember when we first met? We argued over Wakanda and New Asgard for days,” Azari reminded her, smiling. 

“Oh,’ Torrun nodded. “I do recall that happening many a time.”

“Exactly,” Jamie sighed and rested against the wall, closing her eyes. 

“Francis if you draw anything on my face I will kill you,” Jamie said after a couple of seconds.

Tony, Peter, and Sam laughed. She heard Francis huff and sit back down. “Buzzkill, that happened only  _ one  _ time.”

Jamie smiled, keeping her eyes closed. “That one time you drew a giant dick on my face, I had to go to a meeting right after.”

“Okay true, but it wasn’t permanent marker so give me credit for that.”

“Wow Francis, thank you so much for drawing a dick on my face with washable markers,” Jamie said dryly. 

“You two are like siblings,” Azari commented, Jamie could practically see him shaking his head in amusement. 

“Well you can only save each other’s asses so many times before you become attached,” Francis drawled.

“You grew on my like a rash,” Jamie said tiredly. 

“Watch it Jamie, I have a marker somewhere.”

“Don’t,” Jamie groaned. “We’re going to see the King of Wakanda.”

“Eh,” Francis flapped a hand, “He already likes you.”

Jamie felt Azari tense slightly next to her. 

“Well I am amazing,” She grinned. 

“Oh God,” May scoffed, “and I thought I was bad.”

“This is Stark, requesting to land,” Tony asked in the cockpit.

“Request accepted,” A voice answered him briefly. 

Jamie glanced at Azari. He was still except for his hands, which were shaking slightly. She reached out and gently grabbed one of his hands and squeezed it. Azari smiled gratefully at her. Jamie smiled back and determinedly ignored the way his smile made her insides melt. 

“Here we go,” Tony announced, and the plane landed with a gentle thud.

The back opened and everyone stood to exit. T’Challa, Shuri, Okoye, and two other Dora Milaje were waiting for them. 

“King T’Challa, thank you for allowing us to come back,” Tony bowed slightly in respect. 

“Mr.Stark, is is my pleasure, we must all be prepared for the oncoming battle,” T’Challa smiled. 

T’Challa led them in the Palace then into a sitting room. Jamie noticed that T’Challa was limping slightly.

“Excuse me, King T’Challa, are you okay?”

Shuri and Okoye muttered something. T’ Challa looked at them disapprovingly and cleared his throat. 

“There was a dispute of power, however it is all resolved now.”

Shuri snorted and T’Challa glared at her.  

“Shuri, why don’t you give Mr.Stark a tour of your labs?”

Shuri subtly rolled her eyes at her brother. 

Tony blinked. “I would love to see your labs, see what secrets await,” He wiggled his fingers. 

“Can I come?” Peter bounced excitedly, looking between Tony and Shuri. 

“Sure,” Shuri shrugged. “But don’t break anything! T’Challa already broke my testing mannequins.”

“For the last time,” T’Challa groaned, “you did not specify how hard I should hit.”

Shuri huffed, unconvinced, and led Tony and Peter to the lab. Azari tried to hide a laugh next to Jamie. T’Challa looked at Azari then sighed loudly.

“Am I right to assume that you know that story?”

“I know that tale very well,” Azari nodded, fighting a smile. 

“My sister torments even my future,” T’Challa grumbled. He looked at Sam. “Mr.Wilson, the others are where you were originally, do you remember how to get there?”

“Yes,” Sam answered, startled at being addressed directly. “And thank you again, for letting us stay.”

“War is coming Mr.Wilson, we must all be allies to fight against Thanos,” T’Challa smiled. 

Sam bowed his head and started to follow two Dora Milaje towards the others.

“Mr. Wilson,” T’Challa called. “Do not make me regret of thinking of you as allies, you will not like the consequences.”

Sam gulped and nodded vigorously. When he left, Okoye gave T’Challa a stern look.

“What?”

She shook her head. T’Challa sighed and turned to Jamie.

“Have you heard anything yet?”

Jamie shook her head, frustrated. “Not a thing, how about you?”

“If I didn’t know what was to happen, it would seem as if everything is normal.”

“What are they waiting for,” She grumbled.

A dora milaje slipped into the room and whispered something into Okoye’s ear. She nodded and repeated it, by whispering, to T’Challa. T’Challa pinched the bridge of his nose then nodded. 

“I must go, but please make yourself comfortable. The others are that way,” He waved a hand behind him and followed Okoye out of the room. 

Jamie and the others walked to where the rest were. Jamie stopped at the door, her hand resting on the handle.

“Are you well?’ Torrun asked, looking at Jamie worriedly. 

“I-yes,” She gulped. “Sorry, it’s just....”

“This may be the last time we see them,” Azari finished somberly.

Jamie nodded, trying to swallow the lump in her throat. 

“Then let’s make sure that the last time goes out with a fucking bang,” May said loudly, grinning and gently squeezing Jamie’s shoulder. 

Jamie gave May a grateful smile. She pushed open the door and all conversation immediately stopped. Everyone turned to face them, staring and not moving until Rhodey broke into a wide grin.

“Jamie!” He walked over,  _ he walked over! _ **_,_ ** and gave Jamie a big hug.

“You can walk,” She gasped, hugging the man back.

“They look pretty cool don’t they,” He stuck out a leg and turned it to show off his prosthetics. “Tony had some designs sketched up and asked Shuri if she could look at them. She did, made some improvements, and here I am!”

“That is wicked,” Francis grinned, gazing at Rhodey’s braces. 

“H-hi May,” Bruce said shyly, walking up to her.

“Hiya pops!” She smiled widely and grabbed Bruce, wrapping him in a bone crushing hug. 

“We’re here too you know,” Clint called from where he was sitting.

“Good for you,” Francis snarked. 

“How’s it going,” Jamie asked before Clint could reply. Her eyes scanned over the people in the room, subtly ignoring Steve and Bucky. 

“Can’t complain, Wakanda is amazing,” Bruce gushed, finally freeing himself from May. “How’s Tony and Thor doing?”

“They are well,” Torrun answered. “Though we are all anxious for battle.”

Sam snorted. “Amen to that sister.”

The tension slowly melted from the room. They all began to mingle together. Jamie was talking to Rhodey, Clint, and May when someone tapped her shoulder. She turned around and Steve was standing there, wringing his hands. 

“Yes?”

“Can we talk, in private,” He asked, putting a hand on Jamie’s shoulder.

Jamie smiled, hoping her eyes didn’t show her apprehension, and followed her father. He led her to a small room that joined the main through a small door. Inside was a small table and a beautiful painting of a sunset. 

“I’m sorry, but I have to ask,” Steve blurted the second he closed the door. 

“Ask what?” Jamie asked, taken aback. 

“Who is your mother? I have to know.”

Jamie dropped into a chair. “Why.”

“I need to know, I already have an idea but I have to know. Did I love her?”   
Jamie couldn’t help the bitter laugh that escaped her lips. “You tried, you tried like hell but-”

“But?”

“The woman you married, my mother, is someone you know. I think you tried to convince yourself that you loved her. She was your last tie to a past that left you behind, you clung to anything that reminded you of your life before.”

Steve sat down next to Jamie, staring at his hands. “I didn’t love her?”

“You tried, just like she tried. It was more hero infatuation than love, but she tried to make it love. You two weren’t in love, but you made one hell of an effort.”

“How could I marry someone I didn’t love,” Steve whispered, looking up at Jamie.

She shrugged. “People do it all the time. When she died, you mourned but not like someone who loved her.”

Steve shook his head and rubbed his face. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s too late to do anything now, I’m here,” Jamie shrugged, trying to smile. “Don’t beat yourself up over this, you could never have really loved her anyway.”

“W-what do you mean?”

Jamie sighed. “You loved someone else but you couldn’t be with them.”

Jamie turned to leave.

“Am I a good person?”

She froze, hand on the door knob.  _ Now that’s the question isn’t it? Was Daddy dearest a good man?  _ She turned to look at her father. He was hunched in his seat, staring at his hands.

“I don’t know,” She answered truthfully. “I think you’re a good man who's been told for too long that you’re the only good man.”

Steve looked up at her, tears in his eyes and brows furrowed. Jamie sighed, she pitied him. She walked over, squatted down and grabbed his hands.

“You are a good man, you just aren’t the only good man. You need to realize that there are other good people who want to help. It’s not you against the german army anymore. It’s messy, it’s painful and at the end you’ll question if it’s even worth it, but,” Jamie squeezed his hands. “It is. It always is worth it. Just do me a favor and remember. Remember to listen to others. Mistakes will happen, you’ll rise and fall. But just remember you aren’t alone, don’t let yourself crash.”

Jamie stood up and walked back to the door. “A world with superheroes is better than a world without them, but being a superhero doesn’t make you a god,” she tossed over her shoulder, not looking back as she walked out. Jamie wiped her eyes quickly, ran a hand through her hair, and smiled at Pym when he smiled at her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The woman Jamie is talking about is Sharon, in case that confused anyone. :D. I know a lot of people, myself included, really didn't like the Sharon/Steve kiss in Civil War. Just WHY? But Sharon, at least in the comics, is good character that shouldn't be ignored so I tried to include her too and I had to make it sad because that's just me. I'll leave it up to you guys who you think Steve's heart really belonged to. I just can't believe he loves Sharon, he tries but he can't. AND the story will be probably be around 30 chapters, so YAY!


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUess WhOSE ALIVE?? me :D. Hopefully this chapter makes up for my absence <3

**“No heroes, villains, one to blame**

**While wilted roses fill the stage**

**And the thrill, the thrill is gone**

**Our debut was a masterpiece**

**But in the end, for you and me**

**Oh, the show, it can't go on”**

**\- “Stole the Show” by Kygo**

Jamie stared out a window. She did that a lot, when her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts she would gaze out a window. She had been sitting on the ledge since her and Steve talked. _Why did I tell him all that? Now he knows who my mom is. Oh fuck it, it doesn't really matter at this point. I just need to kick Thanos’s ass. They won’t fight him, they can’t fight him. It has to be us, it has to be. No matter what._

“See anything interesting,’ May asked, standing behind Jamie.

She jumped slightly. “Just thinking.”

May nodded, looking out the window. She sighed and sat next to Jamie.

“About?”

Jamie exhaled loudly and ran a hand through her hair. “About what’s going to happen next.”

May looked behind them, everyone was sitting around the room and talking. 

“Tony isn’t going to fight Thanos, is he.”

Jamie smiled bitterly. “No, he isn’t. We are.”

May huffed a laugh. “How the hell are we going to stop Tony, hm?”

“Corvus and Thanos will be together,” Jamie said, looking down at a bustling Wakanda market.

“They’ll fight Corvus,” May said slowly. “But how will we separate them?”

Jamie shook her head. “That’s what I’m still trying to figure out.”

“You’ll think of something, fearless leader,” May smiled, clapping Jamie’s back loudly.

Jamie grinned, but it quickly fell. “May, what do you-”

Jamie was cut off by a deep  _ boom. _ Everyone in the room froze, looking at each other. 

T’Challa burst into the room.

“King T’Challa, is it Black Dwarf?” Steve asked immediately, jumping to his feet.

“Where is Shuri,” T’Challa blurted out.

Jamie looked around, then her eyes widened and she cursed.

“Where are Peter and Tony?”

T’Challa said something in Wakandan that Jamie was ninety-nine percent sure was a curse.

“Follow me,” He pointed to Jamie. 

T’Challa disappeared from the door and Jamie ran after him.They walked quickly, almost to the point of running, down to Shuri’s lab. Jamie and T’Challa stepped through the door and Jamie’s eyes began to water from the smell of smoke. Shuri and Peter were on the floor, laughing hysterically while Tony was standing with a destroyed device in his hands, shocked. 

“What is going on?” T’Challa gasped. 

Shuri tried to talk but she was laughing too hard so she pointed at Tony. T’Challa turned to him.

“They’re evil,” Tony groused, glaring at the teens which caused them to laugh harder. 

Shuri and Peter’s laughter was infectious and soon Jamie was trying not to laugh. 

“I should not have left you three alone,” T’Challa rubbed his forehead. 

“Don’t be such a downer brother, these colonizers are funny,” Shuri cackled.

“You should have seen his face,” Peter giggled, tears streaming down his face.

Tony looked T’Challa dead in the eye. “I hate teenagers.”

“I am starting to agree with you Mr.Stark.”

Once Shuri and Peter managed to stop laughing, they dragged Tony, T’Challa and Jamie over to a sand table.

“Look what we came up with!”

Shuri pressed a button and an image of the Hulkbuster popped up. “We were thinking that if Thanos looeses an Infinity Stone, we should have something to contain it.”

“How would you contain it,” T’Challa asked, frowning at the design. 

Peter looked at Shuri. “Well, we guessed that an infinity stone is kinda of like Vibranium, which is awesome by the way.”

“You can deactivate Vibranium temporarily, right?” Tony asked.

“Yes, I improved your design. Instead of repulsors, it shoots the same energy we us to deactivate the Vibranium for transport.”

“That,” Tony leaned in to get a better look, “Is amazing. How did you get the light to be sustainable? Where is the powersource?”

Shuri beamed. “At first, I had trouble with that. But Peter suggested that we use your reactor to power the energy blastors.”

Peter nodded vigorously. “Yeah, it took some trial and error but we figured it out. But, the bad news is that the suit would only be able to power that energy for two minutes, max.”

“What about enlarging the arch reactor,” Tony suggested, pulling up schematics on his watch. “That could give the energy a boost, maybe enough juice do something way cooler.”

Shuri sighed, annoyed. ‘We tried that. Enlarging the reactor would overload the circuits.”

‘Maybe,” Tony allowed. :Maybe not, take a look at this.”

He showed Shuri and Peter the schematics on his watch. Shuri grabbed his wrist and pulled it closer to her face.

“Hey, easy on the manhandling!”   
Shuri rolled her eyes. “What element is this reactor using?”

“One I invented,” Tony shrugged. 

“You  _ invented  _ an element,” Peter gaped, staring at Tony with awe. 

“Yes, but I wouldn’t recommend doing it. I still can’t stand coconut.”

T’Challa and Shuri stared at Tony like he was crazy. 

“This could work,” Shuri hummed. “But it would only give the suit a few more minutes of power.”

“Every second counts,” T’Challa pointed out. 

“We’ll get right on it,” Shuri dragged Tony away by his wrist, still fiddling with the schematics. Peter hurried after her. The three of them began to talk loudly and animatedly. 

“Well,” Jamie said after a moment of silence, turning to T’Challa. “I guess we know what that boom was.”

T’Challa nodded slowly. “I am starting to regret introducing them.”

“They keep things interesting?”

T’Challa hummed, unconvinced. “Let’s return to the others. I suspect they will be here for hours.”

Jamie snorted. “Probably.”

The pair walked back to the group of heroes milling around. 

“What was that?” Francis asked Jamie.

“Tony, Shuri, and Peter.”

“Oh God.”

“Yep.”

Jamie’s phone beeped and she jumped slightly. 

“Did that just scare you you,” May asked, sounding like she was about to laugh.

“No,” Jamie glared at her. 

Jamie pressed ‘answer’ and held it up to her ear. 

“Jamie?”    
“Pepper, what’s up?”

“There’s a man in a cape here, not Vision, saying he needs to talk to you. Apparently, it’s so important that he can’t call you himself.”

Jamie smiled. “I’ll be there-”

“Strange? What kind of name is that? So you’re telling me that the Sorcerer Supreme can’t pick up a phone and make a call? I don’t have her number is the lamest excuse I’ve ever heard.”

Jamie suppressed a giggle behind her hand. “I see you’re getting along well?”

“He’s like a second fucking Tony. I might kill him.”

“Stay strong,” Jamie said sympathetically. “We’ll be there.”

“Please,” Pepper begged, then hung up. 

Everyone looked at Jamie curiously. “Strange’s at the compound and Pepper sounded three seconds away from strangling him with his own cape.”

“So they’re getting along?” May grinned. 

“Are we gonna go back?” Pym asked, giving Jamie puppy eyes.

“We should probably see what he wants.”

Francis groaned loudly. “Ughh.”

“You poor thing,” Jamie said dryly. 

“We will depart in half an hour,” Azari announced, standing up. He walked over and leaned close to Jamie. “May I speak with you?”

“Sure,” Jamie gave him a weird look but followed Azari out. 

Azari led her down the hall then turned around so fast she almost ran into him.

“Dude, what’s up?”

Azari gently grabbed Jamie’s hand and gave it a light squeeze.

“Azari?”

He looked her in the eyes and Jamie saw emptiness in his electric yellow eyes. “This may be the last time we ever see them.”

Jamie gasped softly, taking a step back. “W-what?”

“Think, Thanos will attack at any moment.”

Jamie looked down at the ground.  _ The last time? _ “We could see them after?” She said weakly.

Azari gave Jamie a pitying look. “Will we?”

Jamie sighed roughly, sniffing loudly. “Should we tell the others?”

Azari nodded slowly. “Let them say goodbye.”

“Alright.”

Azari straightened up, his eyes cooled slightly. “Let us go.”

“Azari,  wait, don’t do this.”

He let go of her hand and walked away. Jamie watched him go, biting her lip. She shook her head and hurried after him. Jamie walked in the room right as Azari went up to his father. Aari started to speak but T’Challa interrupted him.    
“Miss Romanoff is in the other room, we brought her in from France.”

“Can we see her?” Steve perked up. Jamie could imagine a tail wagging with excitement. 

“This wa,y, T’Challa waved a hand behind him. 

Everyone walked out but when Pym began to follow Jamie grabbed his arm.

“You coming?” Sam asked, looking behind. 

“We’ll be right there,” Jamie tried to smile.  _ How am I going to tell them?  _

Jamie motioned for her friends to follow her and she led them to the window. 

“What’s wrong,” Pym asked, looking at Jamie. 

Jamie opened her mouth but no sound came out. She looked at Azari, he nodded slightly. 

“W-we have to say goodbye.” Jamie straightened her back and looked each person in the eye as she spoke. “This is probably the last time we see them before Thanos.”

“Thanos?” Francis frowned. “I thought we were going after Corvus.”

“Nay,” Torrun said slowly, giving Jamie an understanding look. “We were always to battle Thanos.”

“Somehow we’ll lead Thanos away from them and fight him ourselves.”

“What about after, w-will we see them after?” Pym asked in a small voice.

Everyone looked at him then at Jamie. She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. “I don’t know Pym, maybe.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Jamie saw Azari look at her sadly.

“How will we get Thanos away then?” Francis ran a hand through his snow white hair. 

“With an infinity stone,” May suggested. “We say we have one and we’ll give it to him if he follows us.”

“He is not stupid, he will know a fake stone from a real one,” Azari contradicted. 

“Will he?”

_ If only we could make him go to where we want him to go, like a portal or something. Wait a moment, portal! _

“Portal,” Jamie blurted out. 

“What?” Francis said, starting at Jamie like she was crazy. 

“What if we made him go through a portal? Push him through,” Jaime pushed her hands out. 

“None of us can make a portal,” Pym pointed out. 

“Remember that thing Peter almost fell through,” May said excitedly.

“Yes! At the Sanctum,” Jamie nodded vigorously then deflated when she remembered the size of the portal. “But the portal wasn’t that big. It was the size of a manhole cover, at most.”

“Maybe Strange could make it more powerful?” Francis provided, raising his eyebrows.

“Maybe,” Jamie agreed.

“There is still a problem,” Azari told them.

“What?”

“Where. Where will the portal go? We could end up in the middle of downtown New York.”

“That’s just a gamble we’re going to have to make.”

Azari raised an eyebrow at her. “It is?”

“Yes,” Jamie said fiercely. “Sometimes you can’t plan for everything. We’ll deal with it when it comes.”

“You sound like your father.”

Jamie’s jaw clenched. “I’m not planning to kill innocent people,” She ground out.

“You do not know where this portal leads, we could waste more lives then we’d save,” Azari countered. 

“What would you suggest we do then,” Jamie hissed. “It’s coming down to the wire. We don’t have time to plan out every little outcome, we just don’t.”

“If this is our plan to save the world, it should be better than we will see,” Azari growled back. 

“What else can we do?” Jamie exploded. She took a deep breath. “Look, I agree with you here. This plan isn’t the best, far from it, but it’s all we got right now. Maybe later we can hash up something for now but-” Jamie cut herself off and shrugged. 

Azari sighed then nodded. “I am sorry for yelling, it was not appropriate.”

“No,” Jamie waved is apology away. “It’s okay. The plan isn’t great I’ll give you that but-” Jamie leaned close to him to whisper: “Don’t question me like that again in front of them, not right now. Everyone’s terrified, they don’t need to see us fighting. We need to be together.”

“Agreed,” Azari titled his head in acknowledgement. 

Jamie nodded once. “Alright. Azari, can you tell T’Challa we need to leave? I’ll go get Tony and Peter, everybody else,” Jamie turned to the others. “Say goodbye.” She looked at Azari, Francis, and May, “you have fifteen minutes.”

“We will see you on the quinjet,” Torrun said quietly. She and Pym gave everyone a hug then left for the jet. 

“What,” Francis began then forcefully cleared his throat. “Why are goodbyes always so hard?” He scoffed bitterly. 

“”Cause it’s goodbye,” Jamie said simply, looking at her hands. 

“How we say farewell to them?” Azari nearly pleaded, looking at Jamie for help. “They do not know us, not like we know them. We are not family.”

“Wow Azari, way to lighten the mood,” May tried to joke but it sounded forced.

‘Say it,” Jamie bit her lip, “say it like it isn’t goodbye. Say it like we’ll see them again.”

“But will we,” Azari asked bluntly. 

‘I don’t know,” Jamie answered truthfully. “Does anyone know what will happen to us? No, but that doesn’t matter.”

“It kind of matters to me,” May muttered. 

“You can figure it out on the way back to New York,” Francis waved a dismissive hand at May and she harrumphed. 

“Ready?” Jamie asked rhetorically, turning to the door that the others went through to see Natasha. 

‘Let’s get this over with,” May grunted, pushing the door open. 

Francis, Jamie, and Azari followed her in silently. 

Everyone watched them walk in, staring blankly. 

“So, these kids are the ones from the future,” Natasha said, her critical eyes scanning the four. 

“Yep that’s us,” Jamie slightly waved her hand. “We’re to say bye, we’re leaving for New York soon.”

“You’re not going to stay,” Sam asked from where he was sitting.

Francis shook his head. “Can’t, there’s things we have to do in New York.”

“So you’re running away,” Clint muttered under his breath. 

Azari turned his head sharply to Clint’s direction. “We are not running away. We have more important matters to attend to in New York.”

“But aren’t this your people?” Natasha stared critically at Azari.

“They are, but it is your responsibility to protect Wakanda. It is mine to protect New York, and by that extent the world. If Wakanda suffers great damage I know who to blame.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Clint scoffed. 

“This are your people though, how can you be so callous,” Steve implored, staring at Azari like he had never seen him before. 

“I am playing the odds Captain,” Azari said stiffly. 

“Callous, more like heartless,” Sam rolled his eyes. 

“Do not judge me from what you observe Wilson,” Azari said angrily. “I am shouldering responsibilities that you will never understand. Compassion would do you good.”

“It would be good for you to have compassion too,” Steve said, with infuriating authority in his voice. “That’s what a leader should do.”

“Oh Jesus,” Jamie swore softly. “Steve, stop.”

“Are you saying I am not a leader Captain? That I have no compassion?”

“I’m saying that you should be more sympathetic, we’re all tired, we’ve all lost things.”

“And I have not?”

“You’re just a kid, you don’t really know,” Steve sounded like he was trying to sound older, therefor superior. 

“I have lost things,” Azari stated calmly. He sounded harsh and unforgiving, cold like the ocean during a storm. “I have lost everything and yet the universe still finds things to take from me. I saw my  _ world  _ burn before my eyes and I had to run away. I had to turn my back and run like a coward while I heard my family perish, my world perish in agony. And now I stand here, before you, and I will not endure you accusing me of having no compassion, no love. I had love in my heart, but it was burned. Now revenge and retribution lie festering in my heart and you will not get in my way, consequences be damned.”

Everyone looked shocked, Steve’s mouth was hanging open like a fish. Azari turned swiftly and left the room.

“Way to go Steve,” Natasha murmured, glaring at the shell shocked blond.

“I’ll go find him,” Jamie told Francis and May. 

She glared at her father then ran after Azari. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> emotionssssssssss hehehehehe.


	24. Chapter 24

“I know you're thinking I'm heartless

I know you're thinking I'm cold

I'm just protecting my innocence

I'm just protecting my soul”

-Too Good at Goodbyes by Sam Smith

“Azari?” Jamie called, looking around for him. “Azari!”

She passed a hallway then quickly turned back around. Azari was standing at the other end, looking deep in thought.

“Azari,” Jamie smiled, relieved. ‘I”m sorry about Steve, he’s an idiot. Are you okay?”

He looked at Jamie, there were tears in his eyes but none had fallen. “Do not apologize for your father, in fact I fear he may be right.”

Jamie’s heart squeezed painfully, she longed to walk over and embrace the prince but she wasn’t sure physical contact would be welcomed. 

“No, he’s not right at all. You’re doing the best you can in what are, frankly, shit circumstances.”

“Am I?” Azari demanded, he began to pace back and forth. 

‘Yes you  _ are _ ,” Jamie said fiercely. “There isn’t a rule book for this kind of shit, no guidelines to follow or orders to be obeyed. We are all doing the best we can to make sure our family survives.”

“What if we don’t?”

Jamie blinked in shock. “Huh?”

Azari marched up to her and grabbed her shoulders. “What will happen to us? We could die, Jamie, in a world that is not our own.”

“If that’s what it takes to save it, so be it,” Jamie shrugged, trying to be blaise.  _ You won’t die Azari, not if I can help it. _

Azari ducked his head and let out a breathless chuckle.

“What?”

He looked at her with a small smile playing on his lips. “I will never understand you.”

Jamie grinned. “That must be why I’m so much fun."   
“Must be,” Azari whispered, staring at Jamie’s face intently. 

Azari slowly pulled Jamie closer to his chest, eventually enveloping her into a hug. 

Jamie brought her arms up to hug Azari back. 

“Are you ready to say goodbye to your father,” Azari asked. Jamie could feel the vibrations of his voice where her face was laying on his chest. 

‘Are you?” 

“I asked first,” Azari pointed out. Jamie heard the smile in his voice. 

“I don’t want to say goodbye to a person who barely knows me,” Jamie’s voice wavered. She silently cursed herself.  _ Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t you dare start crying. _

“But I think I have to, some sort of closure.” Jamie pulled herself away, despite nearly every cell in her body wanting to stay in that embrace forever. 

“I need to say bye now or I might chicken out,” Jamie tried to joke. 

“Say your goodbyes, but know that I am here for you.”

Jamie smiled at Azari. “Back at you, kitty cat.”

Azari gave Jamie’s shoulder a squeeze then walked away to find his father. Jamie stood there for a few seconds, trying to calm down and not burst into tears when she saw Steve. After a while, she nodded to herself and went back to the room. When she opened the door, things were noticeably quieter. People were talking in hushed tones. Jamie’s eyes scanned the room before she spotted Steve talking to Sam and Bucky; taking a deep breath, she walked over. 

Sam was the first one to see her coming. 

‘Hey Jamie! Is Azari okay?”

“Yeah,” Steve turned around. “I was a bit of an idiot, I’d like to apologize.”

Jamie tried to smile. “Yeah, he’s around here somewhere.”

“Okay, I’ll find him later then,” Steve smiled and turned back to talk with Bucky. 

Sam noticed Jamie hesitate. “Something else on your mind?”

“Actually, yeah there is. Mind if I sit down?”

“Not at all,” Sam motioned to an open chair between him and Bucky. 

“I just wanted to tell you that I, we, are leaving.”

‘Oh, okay,” Steve nodded. “I’ll see you ‘round. 

Sam and Bucky shared a look then Bucky elbowed Steve.

“What?”

“Actually, no you won’t. Thanos will be coming soon and we won’t see each other until......after.”

“Oh, oh!” Steve stood up quickly. “So this is goodbye?”

“For now,” Jamie tried to sound hopeful, but that’s hard to do when you’re heart is slowly breaking. 

“I-I’ll see you later Steve,” Jamie stuck out a hand. 

Steve looked at her hand, at Jamie’s face, then at her hand again. He slowly took her hand in a gentle grip. “Can I hug you, I mean if that’s okay?”

“That’s more than okay,” Jamie forced the words out of her throat which was constricting with unshed tears. Steve cautiously wrapped his arms around Jamie and she eventually did the same. 

Sam coughed loudly. “Hug Steve, not awkwardly embrace.”

Steve glared at Sam but hugged Jamie tighter. Jamie squeezed her eyes shut so she didn’t cry. After a minute, Steve pulled away. Jamie turned to leave.

“Hey Jamie.”

“Yeah?” She turned back to Steve. 

“After this, after Thanos, do you want to, I don’t know, get lunch sometime or something? I want to get to know you better.”

Jamie swallowed a lump in her throat so she could talk. “I would love that. Well, see you later then,” She smiled and walked back out of the room. Jamie leaned against the door and let out a shaky breath.  _ God, that was so much harder than I thought it was going to be. _

“You okay?” 

Jamie stood up and looked towards the sound of the voice. Rhodey was walking toward her with a concerned expression. 

“Yeah, just everything is catching up to me.”

“Do you need to talk about something?” Rhodey put a hand on her shoulder.

“N-no, I need to find Tony and Peter. We’re leaving and we won’t be back until after,” Jamie said, keeping her eyes focused downward.  _ I can’t look you in the eye Rhodey, I will cry. PLease, please don’t ask me what’s wrong, just go.  _ Rhodey was quiet for a moment then sighed.

“C’mere kid,” Rhodey wrapped his arms around Jamie in a hug and squeezed her gently. “Don’t worry, we’ll make it. I promise.”

Jamie frooze, stock still, before she broke like a damn. She surged forward and hugged Rhodey back. Jamie squeezed her eyes shut, clinging to Rhodey like a light in the dark. 

“It’s gonna be okay,” Rhodey said quietly, rubbing Jamie’s back.

They stayed like that for a while, Rhodey gently comforting Jamie and Jamie trying her hardest not to burst into tears. Eventually, she pulled away. 

“Thank you,” She said quietly, sniffling.

“I’ll see you around Jamie, you can’t get rid of me that easily.”

Jamie laughed wetly. “I would never dream of it.”

“What evil plans are you two hatching up?” 

Jamie and Rhodey turned around, Tony was striding confidently over. 

“How to legally change your name to Stank,” Rhodey deadpanned. 

Tony stopped dead in his tracks. “Rude, that-I am hurt platypus.”

“Where’s Peter?” Jamie asked.

“He and Shuri are currently taking over the world, and they have graciously allowed me access to their new and insane designs.”

“You aren’t, I don’t know, jealous?” Jamie looked at Tony.

“Are you kidding me? Hell no, they are the new generation of evil geniuses! It warms my cold dead heart to know that there are kids who are smarter than me, there might be hope for the world yet.”

“How progressive and innovative of you Tony,” Rhodey teased slightly, though he seemed genuinely proud. 

Tony grinned. “Well I am a futurist.”

“Speaking of the future, Pepper called.”

Rhodey and Tony froze, terrified. 

“Does that mean I won’t  _ have _ a future, Rhodey?!” Tony gasped dramatically, leaning on Rhodey. 

“Get off me Stank,” Rhodey gently pushed Tony off him.

“Strange is at the compound.”

“How does he know where I live,” Tony shrieked.

Rhodey and Jamie flinched. “Jesus Tony, you might’ve made me go deaf.”

“Honey bear, you’re already going deaf don’t blame me.”

“ _ Excuse _ me?”   
“Did a cat just die or something?” May stuck her head out of a door.

“No,” Jamie shared a knowing look with May. “Strange is at the compound.”

“Ooh gotcha.”

Tony grumbled angrily. Rhodey sighed, putting a hand on Tony’s shoulder.

“Deep breath Tones, deep breath.”

Jamie smiled softly at the pair. ‘I’ll go find Peter, bye Rhodey.”

Rhodey smiled back,  “See you around Jamie.”


	25. Chapter

**“Hey Mr. cage man let me get a fresh breath**

**Cherry bomb head strong I could fake my own death**

**Hey Mr. fate man shuffle me a ninth life**

**I've been wrong, go long**

**Throwing me a sharp right”**

****\- “Hopeless Opus” by Imagine Dragons** **

 

  
  


Jamie walked down to Shuri’s lab and stuck her head inside. “Shuri? Peter? You guys in here?”

Jamie cautiously walked through. “Hello?”

She looked around until she saw Shuri’s sandtable. A new design for the hulkbuster was still on. “Woah,” Jamie gasped, hurrying over. She bent to study the design intently. 

“Boo!”

“Christ,” Jamie shrieked, jumping back. Shuri and Peter jumped up from behind the sandtable, cackling evilly. Jamie’s eyes immediately went to the tablet Shuri was holding. 

“Delete that!”   
“No way,” She grinned and danced away. 

“You’re mean,” Jamie stuck her tongue out at Peter. 

“Ye-up, what’s up?”

“We need to go back to New York, Thanos should be coming soon.”

“Really?” Shuri asked worriedly, walking back over.

Jamie nodded sadly. ‘Yeah, we need to be ready to beat his purple ass.”

Shuri and Peter snorted. “We will defeat him,” Shuri said confidently. 

“Hell yeah we will,” Peter grinned and high fived Shuri. 

Jamie smiled. “We’re saved,” She laughed. Jamie’s phone beeped, she took it out and saw there was a picture from Pepper. It was a headline of the New York Times, stating that there was something in space coming closer. 

Jamie looked at Peter. “We gotta go.”

Peter looked at Shuri. “See you later?”

Shuri nodded enthusiastically. “Definitely, I need someone who can understand what I’m talking about.”

Peter giggled. ‘I feel you.”

Jamie and Peter walked out of the room.

“Bye colonizers,” Shuri called. 

The pair walked back up to the main floors of the palace and T’Challa was waiting for them. 

“King T’Challa,” Peter yelped. 

“Mr. Peter Parker, you’re the one who helped my sister nearly blow Stark up?”

“Uh, yes? I mean n-no,” Peter winced. 

T’Challa chuckled. “I have a feeling that you two will be good friends. Now if you don’t mind, Ms. Rogers and I have important business to discuss.”

“Oh yeah, I’ll just go that way,” Peter quickly walked away but not before he looked at Jamie over his shoulder. ‘What?” He mouthed.

Jamie shrugged, confused. 

“Miss Rogers, Jamie,” T’Challa began. “I have just had an enlightening conversation with-with my son. I am honored to have met you Miss Rogers and I wish you the best of luck.” T’Challa put his hand out. Jamie shook his hand but stared at the king. “King T’Challa, I don’t understand..”

“Azari told me the simple version, there’s something bigger yes?”

Jamie nodded, stunned. 

“Something bigger that only you six know of.”

“Yes,” Jamie whispered. 

T’Challa smiled gently. “Then good luck, I hope to see you in the future.”

He patted Jamie on the shoulder then walked away, leaving her alone. Jamie closed her eyes, took a shaky breath, squared her shoulders, and walked back to the others. May met her at the door. 

“We’re ready to go when you are, Francis went back to the plane,” She whispered. 

“Thanks,” Jamie smiled at May. “Where are Tony, Peter, and Azari?”   
“They are waiting for us outside.”

“Right,” Jamie nodded. “Be right back.” 

She stuck her head into the room with everyone else sitting around. “See you around.”

Jamie and May walked away to the chorus of “Bye, good luck!”   
They walked in silence until Jamie broke it by clearing her throat. “So, how was Bruce?”

May half smiled “He suspected something was up, but didn’t really question anything so there’s that.”

“Small miracles right?” Jamie looked up at May, smirking. 

May huffed a laugh. “They’re the best.”

The girls smiled at each other. They walked outside the palace and waved at Tony, Azari, and Peter who were standing off to the side.

“There they are,” Tony commented, coming over. 

“Ready to go?” Jamie asked the group, looking at everyone. 

They looked at each other and nodded. Tony smiled and let out a small laugh.

“Why do I feel like this could work?”

“Because of that annoying little thing called hope,” May said haughtily, then she grinned. 

“How annoying,” Azari said sarcastically.

“Isn’t it just,” May said cheerily, wiggling her eyebrows at Azari. 

“Alright you two, let’s get to the plan,” Tony sighed like a tired parent on a field trip with young kids. 

Tony herded them onto the plan. Torrun and Francis were sitting with their heads together. Jamie looked at Pym. 

“Let’s go, wheels up,” Tony called, talking to Friday.

**Yes Boss, should I put on some music?**

“You know me too well Fri, blast it.”

Black Sabbath began to play through the plane. Jamie shook her head, grinning, and sat by Azari and Peter. 

“How do you think we’ll beat Thanos?” Peter asked Jamie as she sat down.

“We’ll all ask Strange to turn us into Betty White.”

Azari chuckled. 

“She’s still alive?” Peter gasped.

“Yeah,” Pym flew over and sat down on the ground. “You know she’s older than sliced bread?”

“And gum, Mount Rushmore,” Peter began to list off. 

“Civilization,” Jamie put in. 

“Canned beer, and a whole bunch of other things.”

“Damn,” May whistled. “What’s her secret.”

“Formaldehyde,” Azari said in a bored tone. 

“Dark Magic,” Peter offered. 

“Blood of the innocent,” Jamie imputed, like she was talking about the weather. 

Pym laughed. “We’ll all be Betty White and be okay.”

“Hell yeah,” Jamie drawled.

She looked at Tony who was staring out a window with a sad expression. “Hey Peter, I think Tony wants to talk to you.”

Peter blinked. “Really? I mean-”

“Go,” May sighed, gently pushing Peter.

He hesitantly stood up and tip toed over to Tony. Peter looked back at them, Jamie and Pym gave him a thumbs up, then he cautiously walked up to Tony. 

“Right,” Jamie said once the two were talking. “So once we get back to New York, we need to get the portal at the Sanctum.”

May frowned. “We’ll need Strange to enlarge it.”

“Leave that to me,” Jamie promised. “The next problem is how we get Thanos to go through.”

“Make him angry,” Azari suggested. “Have him pursue one of us and we both go through the portal.”

“Alright, me and Torrun will make him angry. The rest of you will need to go through the portal before us.”

Azari glared at Jamie. “Why you and Torrun?”   
“Only two of us can fly and I don’t want to put Pym against Thanos, not until we have too.”

May and Azari nodded. 

“And me because I know what will make Thanos angry.”

“Care to share?” May asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Jamie shook her head wryly. “You’ll see.”

Azari opened his mouth but Peter interrupted him.

“WHAT?”

Everyone jumped and stared at the cockpit. Peter was staring at Tony, mouth hanging open. “W-what, I mean Mr.Stark!”

“Listen kid, you’re going back to school. Thanos isn’t here yet and it’s Tuesday. Get your ass back to class.”

‘But Mr.Stark,” Peter whined. 

“Nope. Don’t care, off to school you go or your Aunt will have my ass.”

Peter chringed. “Ew.”

“Oh look,” Tony announced with false cheer. “We’re in American Airspace and it’s noon. Still plenty of time to make Ap physics.”

Peter harrumphed and crossed his arms. May and Pym snickered.

**All set to land Boss.**

“Take her down Friday,” Tony unbuckled and walked to Jamie. 

“How we lookin’ time wise.”

Jamie shrugged. “Soon?”

Tony sighed. “Great. I love vague answers.”

“Does that mean I don’t have to go to school?” Peter popped up. 

“Hell no, you are going to class.”

Peter groaned loudly. “How come they don’t have to?”

“We, technically, don’t exist,” May pointed out.

“No fair,” Peter grumbled. 

“Life isn’t fair kid,” Tony reached out and ruffled Peter’s hair. Peter pushed Tony’s hand away with a huff. 

“That’s pessimistic.”

“Eh,” Tony shrugged. “I prefer realist.”

Pym blinked. “There’s a difference?”   
“Self esteem,” Jamie said. 

Tony snorted. “I guess that’s one way to put it.”

The plane landed with a gentle thump. 

“Where are we?” Peter peered outside a window. 

“About a block away, I suggest you hurry before you’re late for class.”

“I don’t have my backpack,” Peter stammered.

Tony opened a side door and held Peter’s backpack up.

“You have three minutes.”

Peter gulped then raced out, grabbing his bag from Tony as he passed. 

“Bye Mr. Stark and everyone else. Keep me posted okay bye,” Peter yelled as he sprinted to school. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay Infinity War has me shook. Like what. the. fuck. happened? If it makes you feel better, imagine Infinity War as what happened the first time for this timeline. I wonder what happens this time around? ;)


	26. Chapter 26

“When the sun shines, we’ll shine together

Told you I’ll be here forever

Said I’ll always be a friend

Took an oath I’mma stick it out til the end,”

-“Umbrella” by Rihanna

They laughed at Peter’s antics as the teen raced away.

“Take us home Fri,” Tony said, still laughing slightly.

**Got it Boss.**

Once Friday landed the plane, Tony cautiously stepped out. He sighed in relief when he saw the compound.

“What?” Jamie asked.

“It’s still standing!”

“Uh yeah,” Pym said slowly, staring at Tony.

There was a loud, angry, yell and everyone jumped slightly.

“Not for much longer,” Francis quipped.

Tony swore under his breath. “Lets go before someone dies.”

They walked into the compound, looking around for the source of the yell. Jamie and Tony were the first into the living room and saw something they never thought they would see. Strange and Wanda were sitting on the couch playing a video game, _Mario Kart?_ , but with their magic moving the controllers. Pepper and Vision were sitting on the other couch cheering them on.

“What the hell?” Tony said, flabbergasted.

Wanda jumped and looked at Tony, momentarily losing control of her device. Strange took advantage of her surprise and won the race.

“Ha!” He cheered.

Wanda glared at the sorcerer. “I was distracted!”

“Tell that to my first place medal.”

“You can take that first place metal and-”

“Pepper! You said you wanted to talk to me?” Tony interrupted Wanda before she could finish.

“Oh,” Pepper handed the martini she was drinking to Vision. “Yes, follow me.”

Pepper lead Tony out of the room, she smiled at Jamie as she passed. Jamie smiled back then jumped onto the couch next to Strange.

“So, what’s Mario Kart?”

“A racing game,” Wanda answered. “It is fun, unless someone cheats.” She glared at Strange.

He grinned. “First place,” He reminded her.

“I do not understand the physics of the game, they are not realistic in any sense, but the game does have certain amusing aspects,” Vision said from where he was curled up on the couch.

“Can I play?” Jamie asked.

“Here, have mine,” Wanda handed Jamie a white steering wheel. The women shared a smile briefly then Wanda walked to the kitchen.

“Hey Vision, I challenge you,” Jamie said in the deepest voice she could manage, pointing a finger at the android.

Vision smiled slightly. “I accept you challenge, although I am unfamiliar with this game.”

“Same, so we’re even,” Jamie patted the spot next to her.

“This is gonna be good,” Francis rubbed his hands together. Torrun, Pym,Peter, and Francis squished together on the couch Pepper and Vision were previously sitting on. May and Azari sat on the floor, staring intently at the television. Wanda walked back into the living room, carrying large bucket of popcorn. Jamie’s mouth watered from the delicious smell wafting through the air.

“Wanda,” Jamie called.

The redhead looked at Jamie. She opened her mouth wide and tried to say ‘here’ as clear as she could. Wanda stared at Jamie like she was insane.

“Here,” Francis reached into the bucket of popcorn and threw a few at Jamie. She caught them with a triumphant cry.

 

“Commence battle,” Torrun said impatiently.

“Alright, alright, calm down,” Jamie said absentmindedly, starting a race.

The game quickly got heated, people cheering for both Jamie and Vision. At one point, Jamie and Vision nearly collided from trying to turn the remotes. Vision beat Jamie barely, passing her right before the finish line.

“No,” Jamie laughed loudly, throwing her hands up.

Wanda cheered, throwing an arm around Vision. The pair smiled at each other before turning away, blushing. Jamie grinned then handed Wanda her remote.

“Why don’t you play? I need a drink,” Jamie winked at Wanda.

The witch blushed slightly. Jamie laughed to herself as she walked away. She grabbed a soda then walked out to the balcony, sighing. Jamie heard someone behind her. Strange leaned next to Jamie, staring out at the city.

“Wong told me what this piece of paper means,” Strange broke the silence, taking the paper in question out.

Jamie waited for the sorcerer to continue.

“It links all the sanctums and from the New York sanctum I can essentially overload the systems, causing all three to explode and kill everything I tell it to.”

“I hear a but coming.”

Strange smiled. “But it would leave Earth defenseless from future attacks and kill me in the process.”

Jamie stared at the piece of paper, tempted to grab it and throw it off the balcony. “A nuclear option then.”

“Exactly,” He nodded. Strange hesitated, looking at Jamie.

“Do-do you know what happens to you after?”

“What do you mean?”

“Once Thanos comes, once it’s all over, what will happen to you?”

Jamie looked down at the city, watching the hustle and bustle of city life. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “We might become a part of this timeline.”

“You don’t know that,” Strange argued. He slowly took out the eye of agamotto. “But, do you want to?”

“No,” Jamie smiled. “Let’s leave it to the imagination.

“Then why,” Strange asked earnestly. “You don’t know what’s going to happen, and yet you still can back.”

Jamie watched cars pass on the roads. A minivan was stopped at a red light. Jamie saw a little girl playing with a plastic Mjolnir.

“The world was dying. I saw you die,” Jamie turned to face the sorcerer.

He paled slightly. “You told me.”

Jamie nodded. ‘You can’t imagine what it was like,” She sighed and rubbed a hand over her face. “Imagine your whole world being obliterated. Someone’s there one day and dead the next. Hell on Earth type of destruction.”

“Do they know what’s going to happen,” Strange nodded towards the other New Avengers, lounging on the chairs.

“They suspect, I think. I don’t know if anyone’s really thought about it, you know?”

Strange snorted quietly and shook his head.

“What?”

“If only we could be more like you, I think the world would be a better place.”

Jamie cocked her head, looking at the man confused.

“Hey Jamie, you gotta see this,” Pym called.

“Coming,” She yelled back.

Strange put a hand on her shoulder. “Be better than we are Jamie. Please, if you survive, promise me that. Talk with each other.”

Jamie swallowed and nodded. “I’ll do my best, but I can’t work miracles.”

Strange smirked. “That’s what I’m for.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a slut for domestic avengers y'all have nooooooo idea. But it wouldn't be me without a lil bit of angst


	27. Chapter 27

“Though time is ruthless,

It showed us kindness in the end,

By slowing down enough,

A second chance to make amends"

-“Mars” by Sleeping At Last

Strange started to turn away.

“Strange,” Jamie started.

He stopped and turned around.

“There’s...something I need at the sanctum. It’s going to help a lot.”

“What is it?”

“It looks like a jade cd,” Jamie made a circle with her hands. “It opens a portal, I was wondering if I could use it for a fail safe, of sorts.”

Strange’s brows furrowed, thinking. “I have a vague idea of the object you are talking about, where is it?”

“On the second floor i think? I found it when we were looking for Groot.”

“Ah,” Strange rubbed his chin. “Come over later this afternoon and bring Stark. I need to discuss things with him.”

“Aw,” Jamie grinned. “Are you guys fweinds?”

Strange cringed. “God no, no.”

Jamie laughed, passing Strange. “I dunno Strange, I think you two could be besties.”

Jamie smiled, hearing Strange mutter a curse. They walked back into the room. 

“Jamie,” Azari called, smiling softly.

“Yeah?”

“Follow me, there is something I wish to show you,” Azari took Jamie’s hand and led her out of the room. He dragged her down hallway after hallway. 

“Where are you taking me?” Jamie giggled, letting Azari drag her around. 

“Here,” Azari turned sharply and pulled Jamie into a small room with a table and a few chairs. 

“Is this where you finally snuff me? No witnesses.”

Azari shook his head, smiling. “I want to give you this.”

He took a small dagger out from behind him and held it out to Jamie.

“Where were you keeping that?”

“My back pocket,” Azari deadpanned. “Take it.”

“Why are you giving me this?” Jamie asked, running a hand lightly along the blade. 

“I know you will try to kill Thanos,” Azari murmured. “So I want to give you a fighting chance.”

“Azari,” Jamie said quietly. 

“The blade is vibranium, I convinced T’Challa to give me enough to forge you a weapon and Thor instructed me how Asgardians make their weapons as to ensure it can kill Thanos,” Azari rambled, rubbing his hands together. 

“Azari,” Jamie said louder, putting the weapon on the table. She wrapped her arms around Azari and hugged him tightly. “Thank you.”

Azari sighed and melted into Jamie’s embrace. “I want you to be safe.”

“I’ll try my best,” Jamie smiled, running a hand through Azari’s short hair. 

Azari pulled away enough to look down at Jamie. “You better, after all we still need to have that drink.”

Jamie giggled. “Screw drinks, let’s make it dinner.”

Azari hummed, drawing Jaime against his chest. “You, me, candles, and all of out friends watching outside the window.”

“Never said we had to tell them, we could sneak away?”

“Our daring escape,” Azari chuckled. 

Jamie looked up at the young prince, a familiar, warm, tingling flooded her body. Azari caught her staring, his eyes flicked from her eyes to her mouth. Jamie began to push herself up to Azari and he bent to meet her. 

“Hey Jamie!” Francis yelled, throwing the door open.

Jamie jumped, the moment between her and Azari quickly fizzled out. 

“What.” Azari glared at Francis.

“Oh, uhh, whoops? Anyway, you guys need to come see this right now.”

“What’s wrong?”Jamie pulled away from Azari and looked at Francis. 

“Just, follow me.”

Azari and Jamie shared a worried look then followed Francis out. The living room was dead silent, everyone was staring at the television. 

“Look,” Francis said quietly, pointing to the screen. 

The television was flashing red, breaking news blaring over the speakers. The reporter was talking quickly, a large circular ship was now in the atmosphere and rapidly descending. 

“Sanctum, now,” Strange said to Tony. 

“That is Thanos, isn’t it,” Wanda asked out loud.

“Friday, get the guardians here,” Tony said, inadvertently answering Wanda’s question.  

**Calling them now Boss.**

“Guys,” Scott yelled, sliding into the room. “Have you seen the news?!”

Pym and Tony pointed to the television.

“Oh.”

Tony’s phone rang and he quickly pressed to his ear.

“Star Prince, it’s Stark. Thanos is coming so get your assess over here,” Tony said quickly, staring at the television. “What? I don’t care if you’re called Star Lord or Dickless the Third, get here  _ now _ .”

“I must go to the Sanctum, meet me there as soon as possible,” Strange said. He made a portal and walked through it, not once looking back. 

Jamie suddenly remembered the phone T’Challa had given her. She stepped away and dialed the king.

“Hello?”

“King T’Challa it’s me, Jamie. Thanos is coming so-”

There was loud yelling in wakandan and the line went quiet.

“King T’Challa? Are you okay?”

“They’re here,” He growled.

“Wait what, they?”

“Okoye has informed me that there are two people leading an army towards Wakanda.”

“Shit,” Jamie swore. “I’ll see who wants to kill the other one. Can you hang on until then?”

“Do not underestimate Wakanda Miss Rogers, I will see you after the battle has been won.”

‘Goodluck,” Jamie smiled then hung up.

“Two of the Black Order are about to attack Wakanda,” Jamie told the group. 

Tony cursed under his breath. “Where the hell are the guardians?”

“Tony!” Happy ran into the room, panting slightly. “Are the bunch of weirdos outside here for you?”   
“Is one a raccoon?”

“A what? I have no idea but there was a talking tree.”

“Yep, bring them in.”

Happy grumbled, cursing under his breath. “Security doesn’t even matter anymore, might as well burn all the badges,” Jamie heard Happy mutter as he passed her. 

“Oh thank God you’re still here,” Pepper sighed, walking in with a large bag.

“Pepper?” Tony’s mouth dropped. 

She was wearing jeans with a thigh holster and a bullet proof vest. 

“What the hell are you wearing?”

“Since you won’t let me wear that suit of armor, I’ve got my own. I won’t sit this out Tony. I know I’m not a super soldier but I will be useful. Here,” She reached into the bag then held out her hand. Pepper was holding a handful of ear comms but they looked different from any Jamie had ever seen. 

“A girl named Shuri made these, she said they were based on kimoyo beads. A basic design, but they all link together and have unlimited range. Or at least that’s what they’re supposed to do.”

Jamie took one and pressed it into her ear. “Hello?”

“Jamie!”

“Jesus,” Jamie jumped, wincing at the volume of Shuri’s voice.

“No, better. These beads are how we all stay in contact.”

“Smart, everyone knows what’s going on,” Azari said, pressing his. 

“Exactly. Now what’s the plan?”

“We are waiting for the guardians to get their asses here so we can send a team to Wakanda to help,” Tony said, angrily. 

“I have no idea who they are but okay, and the one of the people coming is a woman, Jamie. T’Challa told me to tell you.”

“That would be Proxima Midnight,” Jamie looked at Azari. “Gamora wants her.”

“It’s Star Lord you dick,” Peter complained.

He and the rest of the guardians piled into the room. 

“I really don’t care Quill.”

“We have more important things to do Peter,” Gamora said sharply. 

Thor and Drax parted the group, carrying a wounded Heimdall.

“My vessel was attacked,” Thor explained before anyone could ask. ‘He needs a healer.”

Thor and Drax gently laid Heimdall on the couch. Tony’s eye twitched but he remained silent. 

“Hey Shuri,” Jamie pressed her comm. “We have wounded, he is the soul stone and if he dies Thanos will get it. Can you heal him?”

“Yes, but get him here quickly, we won’t be able lower the shields soon.”

“He’s already on his way.”

Jamie turned to Gamora. “Proxima is in Wakanda, do you think you can take Heimdall with you so Shuri can heal him?”

“Whatever it takes to kill our sister,” Nebula said darkly. 

“Cool,” Francis said slowly. 

‘Let us make haste,” Thor said worriedly. “I will not lose another friend.”

‘Another?” Torrun said quietly, staring at Thor. 

He looked at her sadly then walked over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “May we meet again daughter.”

“Aye,” Torrun whispered. 

Thor pulled away, sniffling, and grabbed Heimdall. 

“Drax, help me carry him,” Thor said then pointed at Scott. “Come along insect man for we are about to battle.”

“Insect man?” Scott said, somewhat offendedly.

Pym raced over to Scott and hugged him tightly.

“Woah,” Scott looked surprised but hugged Pym back. 

“I-I’ll see you later, yeah?”   
Scott smiled. “Definentatly.”

Scott hugged Pym again then hurried after Thor and Drax. Gamora pulled Peter into a fierce kiss.

“Don’t do anything stupid Quill,” She whispered then kissed him again.

“But that’s my thing,” Peter protested, smiling slightly.

Gamora smiled, rolled her eyes, and kissed Peter again. Pepper cleared her throat awkwardly.

“Take these,” She held out a handful of kimoyo comms. “This is how we stay in contact.”

Gamora took them from Pepper and put them into her pocket.    
“Tell us what happens.”

“Will do,” Jamie promised. 

Gamora nodded then walked to Thor, Drax, and Scott. Nebula followed her sister, looking Jamie over as she passed. 

“Goodluck,” Peter called as they left.

Rocket gave Quill a thumbs up then flipped him off. 

“Why am I friends with him,” Peter muttered.

“Something is deeply wrong with you,” Tony clapped Quill on the shoulder. “Right, let’s get on the quinjet. Strange is probably foaming at the mouth right now.”

“We have to wait for Drax,” Peter pointed out.

Tony sighed and pinched his nose. “Fine but he has five minutes or else we’re leaving him.”

“Wait, we still need to get Peter,” Jamie exclaimed, looking at Tony.

He made a face. “Do we?”

Jamie gave Tony a look. “He’s gonna come no matter what. Better he comes with us then alone.”

“Fine,” Tony growled. “Someone needs to get him.”

“I can go,” Jamie volunteered. “Hey Torrun, you up for carrying me?”

“Aye, we must make haste,” Torrun walked up next to Jamie. 

“ _ You  _ have five minutes,” Tony told them.

“We will be back in three,” Torrun boasted.

They ran outside then Torrun grabbed Jamie by the waist and launched them into the air. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are happeningggggggggggg mwahaha I mean hehehe


	28. Chapter 28

“Where there is light

A shadow appears

The cause and effect

When life interferes

The same rule applies

To goodness and grief;

For in our great sorrow

We learn what joy means”\- "Sorrow" by Sleeping At Last

“That’s the school,” Jamie pointed from where they were hovering. Torrun touched down in front of the building. Jamie started to run to the door but stopped.

“Oh shit.”

“What is wrong?” Torrun asked.

“I have no idea what class Peter is in right now, do you?”

Torrun sighed and shook her head. “Nay, but Tony did say Peter was in physics correct?”

“Let’s go find physics then,” Jamie said, walking up to the door.

“Will we be able to enter? We are not from this school,” Torrun said, eyeing the door. 

“This is America,” Jamie said as she grabbed the door. “Of course we can walk in.”

Torrun and Jamie wandered the halls, looking for Peter’s classroom. The bell rang loudly, making them jump, and students poured into the hallways. 

“Dammit,” Jamie sighed.

Torrun grabbed the arm of a boy walking past.

“Where is Peter Parker?”

The kid glared at Torrun. “The hell should I know?”

He roughly walked past them. 

“You lookin’ for Parker?” A voice yelled.

Jamie and Torrun turned, a kid with black hair gelled back.

“Yeah, do you know where he is?”   
The kid scoffed. “Why are you trying to find him? I’m way better company.”

Jamie made a face. “Are you though? Listen, we just need to find him.”

“Let me buy you dinner and I’ll tell you.”

Torrun sighed angrily “Listen to me boy, do not jest with us for we are not in a gaming mood. Tell us where Parker is.”

The kid opened his mouth, probably to shout something angry, but Peter interrupted him.

“Jamie, Torrun, what are you doing here?”

Jamie and Torrun looked to his voice, Peter was running over with a black haired boy following him. 

“You know them Parker? How does someone like you know them,” The kid leered at Torrun.

“Go away Flash,” Peter groaned. 

“What did you say to me Parker?”   
‘Enough,” Jamie barked. “You,” She pointed to Peter, “with us and you,” She pointed to Flash, “piss off.”

“Hey!”   
“Do you have anymore classes Peter?” Torrun asked.

“Uh, I have-”

“Not anymore you don’t, let’s go,” Jamie grabbed his arm.

“Alright I guess I don’t,” Peter gulped, letting himself be dragged by Torrun.

Torrun glared at Flash then followed Jamie.

“Ned, tell Mrs. Simmons that I won’t be there,” Peter called over his shoulder.

“Okay,” Ned yelled back, staring at Peter leaving with two women. 

“What’s going on,” Peter asked as soon as they were out of the building. 

“Thanos,” Jamie said quietly.

“Oh no.”

“Where is your suit,” Torrun asked, looking around.

“In my backpack, why?”

Jamie and Torrun shared a loo, Jamie nodded and wrapped an arm around Torrun’s waist. Torrun grabbed Peter by the arm.

“Hold on,” She smiled, then jumped into the air.

“Jesus Christ,” Peter yelled, breathing heavily. 

The trio flew quickly and silently, all processing what was about to happen. Torrun landed softly on the compound lawn.

“Hurry,” Jamie said, jogging inside.

Tony and the others were waiting for them.

“That was six minutes,” Tony told Torrun.

“I dislike children,” Torrun grumbled. 

“Don’t we all.”

Tony sighed and looked around the room. “Ready?”

“No,” Francis said simply. “But that doesn’t really matter.”

Quill snorted. “That’s cheerful.”

Francis shrugged, grinning. “What can I say, I’m an optimist.”

“Sure you are,” Tony shook his head. “The jet’s ready.”

“Why are we taking a jet, isn’t he in New York,” Quill asked.

“That bastard is on the  _ other  _ side of New York,” Tony said bluntly.

“Ah.”

A silence fell over the group. Nobody knew what to say next. 

“I’ll go get my uniform,” Jamie announced, breaking the quiet.

“Right,” Tony blinked. “Do you have yours?” He looked at Peter.

“Uh, yeah it’s in my backpack.”

“A better one is on the quinjet, use that one.”

“What’s wrong with mine?”

“Peter, that is an old model everything is wrong with it.”

Jamie slipped out while Peter and Tony were arguing. 

“Hey,” May said, walking up next to Jamie.

“Hi,” Jamie smiled slightly at the other girl and turned into her room. 

May leaned against the doorway while Jamie grabbed her things.

“This is it, I mean this is why we came back,” May said softly.

Jamie stopped, placing her uniform on the bed. 

“Yeah it is,” She huffed. “Doesn’t feel like it.”

“We can’t fuck up.”

Jamie inhaled deeply, grabbing her uniform, and turned to May. “No we can’t, and we won’t.”

“You sure?” May asked, pushing off the doorway and walked with Jamie.

“You know,” Jamie stopped, staring straight ahead. “That day, the day we left, I forgot to feed the goldfish Pym got for his birthday. I wrote myself a note, feed gup, but I forgot.”

May stayed quiet, looking at Jamie and waiting for her to continue. 

Jamie let out a quiet huff of laughter. “That fish isn’t going to exist for another twenty years.”

“We’ll see Gup again,” May said with confidence.

Jamie looked at May for a moment. “Yeah.” 

They walked back into the living room only everyone except Quill was gone.

“Where’d they go,” Jamie asked, looking around.

“They’re on the jet, waiting for us,” Quill said, not turning around.

May and Jamie shared a look. 

“Everything alright Quill,” May asked tentatively. 

“This is my first time on Earth in years,” Quill sighed.

“Things have changed,” Jamie said, sitting on the armrest of the couch. 

Quill sniffed quietly then turned back to Jamie and May, a smile on his face.

“Didn't know I could miss a home I didn’t remember.”

“Home is home Quill,” May shrugged, “Doesn’t matter how long you’ve been gone, you’ll know when you come back.”

“Ah c’mon,” Quill smiled, putting an arm around the girls shoulders, “Let’s go kick Thanos’s ass.”

They cheered and Quill led them to the jet. Peter was pouting in the quinjet, glaring at the suit Tony had loaded on. 

“This is yours,” Quill asked, looking around.

“Yep, best tech in the world,” Tony said proudly.

“It’s not very good.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Just when I was starting to like you.”

“My dreams are crushed.”

Tony glared at Quill, but it was softened by his small smirk. “We’re lifting off now, got everything you need?”   
‘Got something to kill a Titan,” May asked from where she was sitting leisurely. 

“Damn, I left that in my jacket pocket.”

May laughed, leaning back and closing her eyes. Jamie ducked into the bathroom and changed into her uniform.

“Let’s go Fri.”

The quinjet flickered to life and started to lift off, the hatch opened and the plane shot out. 

“Somebody get ahold of Strange, tell him we’ll be there in five minutes,” Tony called. He sat down in the cockpit and fiddled with his watch. Jamie put in her kimoyo earpiece, motioning for the others to do the same. 

“How’s it going in Wakanda,” Jamie asked, turning the device on.

“Heimdall is in stable condition,” Shuri said, sounding out of breath. “And I really hate aliens.”

“They’re not all bad,” Quill protested quietly. 

“No,” Jamie agreed. “Just the ones trying to kill us.”

“Just hurry,” Shuri said, then the line went dead.

Jamie swore under her breath. “Strange, you there? Wong, anybody, hello?”

“Wong here.”

Jamie sighed, relieved, and leaned back. “We’ll be there in five minutes, how’s it going?”

“The ship has gotten closer, you can see it.”

Jamie turned, looking out the window of the quinjet. Wong was right, a large, black, circular ship was visible hovering above New York.

“Shit,” She breathed. Jamie got Azari and Quill’s attention then pointed outside. 

“We’re almost there,” Jamie said, biting her lip.

“We will be waiting for you,” Wong said quickly, then turned his earpiece off. 

“Hey Tony,” Jamie began, not looking away from the ship. 

“I see it,” He said tersely. “An evil doughnut in the sky, why not.”

“Thanos,” Quill growled, pacing around the quinjet. 

“Peter,” Tony yelled suddenly. “Put on your suit, now!”   
“What, why-”

“Do it!” Tony began to press buttons frantically. 

“What’s going on,” Jamie ran up to Tony, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“We got company,” Tony pointed out the front window of the quinjet. 

“Oh God,” Jamie gulped, watching as a small black ship barrelled towards them.

“Get down,” She screamed, turning around.

The ship hit the quinjet head on with a horrible screeching sound. Jamie was thrown forward, hitting the deck of the quinjet hard. 

“I guess Thanos wants to fight us now,” Quill cursed, helping Jamie up.

“Everybody hold on, we’re gonna do an emergency landing,” Tony yelled, pinned to his seat by debris. 

The quinjet landed sharply, skidding along the ground for a few feet. 

“Out, out,” Azari yelled, wrenching a side door open.

Everyone poured through the door, running a safe distance away from the quinjet. The ship erupted in flames and the black ship that had fused with the front of the quinjet slowly opened with a hiss. 

“Get ready,” Tony said, raising a hand. 

A large creature jumped out of the wreckage, landing with a loud scream.

“Dude, you’re fugly,” Quill shuddered. 

“Jamie,” A voice cooed, making the hair on the back of Jamie’s neck stand up.

“Ebony,” She snarled, raising her shield. 

“I have failed Thanos once,” Ebony said, floating down next to the creature. “I will not do it again.”

Jamie pressed her kimoyo bead. “I need to get that disk from Strange, someone give me a distraction.”

Quill looked at Jamie and nodded minutely. He looked at Ebony and cupped his hands around his mouth.

“Take this fugly!” Quill hit the deck and Azari used his body as a springboard, launching himself into the air and hitting Ebony and the creature with a powerful blast of lighting.

“You insolent-” Ebony roared.

Jamie took advantage of Ebony’s distraction, sprinting away as fast as she could toward the Sanctum. 

“Corvus, kill her,” Ebony screamed, pointing at Jamie.

The creature, Corvus, grinned and ran after Jamie.

“Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit,” Jamie cursed as she ran, weaving between alleyways to throw Corvus off. 

Corvus jumped on top of an apartment and ran across the buildings, trailing Jamie.

Jamie had the Sanctum in sight when Corvus jumped, dragging her to the ground. 

“Son of a bitch,” Jamie yelled when Corvus swung at her. 

Jamie ducked and hit Corvus’s exposed side with her shield, unbalancing the creature. She sprinted away.

“Get out of the way,” Jamie screamed, waving her hand as she ran. Jamie looked behind her and saw Corvus rapidly approaching. She grabbed the edge of a building and used her momentum to make a sharp turn. Corvus roared and skidded into the road, unable to make the turn. Jamie tripped over her feet, stumbling slightly but didn’t fall. 

“What the hell is that?” A woman screamed. 

Jamie saw the Sanctum in front of her and used all of her energy to make it to the doors. She threw open the Sanctum door, slammed it closed, and breathed heavily.

“Jamie?”

She looked up, Strange and Wong were walking down the stairs. Jamie opened her mouth to answer but a loud bang on the door echoed through the Sanctum.

“Corvus Glaive,” She panted when Strange looked at her. 

“Let me in humans,” A voice growled, it sounded like thunder. 

“Jamie, it’s on the second floor,” Strange looked at the panting girl.

Jamie nodded at Strange then started to jog up the staircase. She reached the top step when the Sanctum doors burst open and a car flew into the room. Corvus stepped into the room and sniffed the air. 

“You,” He bellowed, pointing at Jamie.

“Run Jamie,” Strange yelled, stepping into a fighting stance. 

Jamie glared at Corvus but did what Strange said, she frantically searched each of the rooms.

“Where the hell is this thing,” She muttered. 

Jamie walked into a room with glass display cases and saw the jade item sitting on top of a case.    
“Yes!” Jamie walked over and grabbed it, inspecting the writing on the sides. 

“There you are,” Corvus growled behind Jamie.

“Fuck,” She whispered. Jamie faced Corvus, hiding the jade item behind her back. 

“Quill was right, you are fugly.”

Corvus sneered, stepping toward Jamie. Every step Corvus took forward, Jamie stepped backwards. 

“Jamie,” Strange slide into the room with Wong right behind him.

Strange had a cut over his right eye and Wong was favoring his left leg but other than that they looked okay. 

“Die,” Corvus screeched, lunging at Jamie. 

Jamie barely dodged his attack, he cut her shoulder, but she rolled away. She jumped up and ran further into the room, Corvus hot on the tail.

“God I hope this works,” Jamie whispered, throwing the jade disk in front of her.

A portal popped up in the ground and Jamie jumped through feet first. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapters will be longer since I want to make sure everything is wrapped up :D Things will happen ehehe


	29. Chapter 29

“May we live and die

A valorous life

May we write it all down

In cursive light

So we pray we were made

In the image of a figure eight

May we live and die”

\- "In the Embers” by Sleeping At Last

 

The portal spat Jamie out three feet above the grassy ground of Central Park, she hit the ground then whipped around and grabbed the portal, shutting it off. 

“It worked,” Jamie cheered, dancing around. She noticed several people staring at her and immediately stopped. Jamie pressed her comm to tell everyone she was okay when a flash of red and gold blew past her.

“Tony?”

Ebony flew after him, with Peter right behind him.

“Busy,” Tony bit out, dodging a car Ebony threw at him.

“Wanda, Vision, Mantis, you’re up,” Jamie said, running after Tony and Peter. 

“We need assistance with Corvus,” Strange grunted.

Jamie stopped, glancing toward the sanctum. “Anybody see Thanos yet?”

“No,” Quill shouted, out of breath. “But fugly one and fugly two had back up.”

Jamie sighed, turning around and running back to where they had crash landed. She reached Francis, Mantis, and Quill when Francis yelled: “Duck!” Jamie did and a creature fell over her with an arrow lodged in it’s brain. 

“We gotta help Strange, you guys okay here?” She asked while fighting off a few creatures. 

“Go,” Quill said, shooting an alien in the chest. “Stark?” He pressed his comm, “Bring Ebony over here, let us get some.”

“Sorry, I am ruining your spotlight?” Tony sassed over the line. 

A creature ran toward Jamie at full speed but Mantis kicked it away and shot it. 

“Digest booty,” She yelled proudly. 

Jamie, Francis, and Quill took a break from the fighting to stare at Manits.

“What?” Jamie and Francis asked in unison.

Quill sighed. “No Mantis,” He said sadly. “It’s eat ass not-” Quill cut himself off to kill another creature. 

“Hey Jamie,” May yelled. “Give me a boost.”

Jamie turned and saw May running toward her at full speed. Jamie sighed and crouched, bringing her shield up. May jumped up and the second she hit Jamie’s shield, Jamie pushed up with all her strength. May rocketed up into the sky, Torrun zipped by and grabbed May’s hand.

“Did you seriously use me for a ride,” Jamie asked incredulously.

May cackled. “This is quicker!”   
“You better turn around and go to the Sanctum, Strange needs us,” Jamie chided, poking Francis to get his attention.

“What?”   
Jamie pointed to the Sanctum. “C’mon.”

They ran to the Sanctum, picking up Pym and Azari on the way. Jamie reached the Sanctum door and stopped.

“Strange we’re here, where are you?”

“Up here,” Strange yelled, running down the hallway with Wong. 

“You two with me,” Jamie pointed to Azari and Pym. “May, take Torrun and Francis and circle round, we’ll get Corvus from both sides.”

“On it,” May nodded, then took off the opposite way with Torrun and Francis.

“Strange, we’re coming,” Jamie hopped up the stairs, chasing after the sorcerers.

Jamie saw Corvus up ahead, but no sorcerers. 

“Guys,” She stopped, “I have an idea.”

“What is it?” Pym asked, slowing down. 

“Just trust me,” She looked at Azari and Pym then ran after Corvus.

“Corvus,” She yelled. 

Corvus stopped and turned, growling and panting. “Do you have a death wish human?”

Jamie walked toward him. “Actually, I want to make a deal.”

Azari and Pym looked at Jamie, alarmed, but stayed silent. 

He threw his head back and laughed. ‘What could you possibly have to offer me?”   
“Not you, your master.”

Corvus narrowed his eyes and took a step towards Jamie. “You are playing with death human, Thanos only wants-”

“The infinity stones, I know,” Jamie cut him off. “Tell Thanos I’m willing to make a trade. I’ll give him the time stone and tell him where to get the soul stone in exchange for sparing me and my friends.”

“I am no messenger,” Corvus growled, standing up to full height. 

Jamie moved like lighting, throwing her shield at Corvus’s knee. She heard bones crack and Corvus feel down with a pained grunt. 

“Today you are, tell Thanos I’m waiting.”

Corvus glared at Jamie but she didn’t back down. Eventually Corvus looked away. 

“Fine,” He grunted then jumped out the Sanctum window.

“Jamie,” Azari began, breaking the silence that had settled.

“We had to get Thanos,” She said curtly, not looking back. 

“Where did he go,” Strange yelled, running up to them. “Jamie, where did Corvus go?”

Jamie swallowed. “He got away.”

“He escaped, what do you mean he escaped!” Strange glared at Jamie.

“I mean he jumped out the goddamn window before we could get him,” Jamie snapped.

Strange blew through his nose angrily. “Fine,  we have to get ready for Thanos.”

“Okay,” Jamie nodded, looking at Strange. They stared at each other for a few seconds until Strange looked away.

“Alright,” He said slowly. Strange shook his head and walked away. 

Once the sorcerer was out of ear shot, Pym and Azari looked Jamie.

“What?”

“That’s your plan?” Pym yelled hysterically. “We don’t have a stone!”

“Wow Pym I didn’t know that,” Jamie retorted. “Thanos just has to think we do until we shove his ass through the portal.”

“As long as it works,” Azari muttered. 

“It will, don’t worry,” Jamie tried to assured them. 

They regrouped with Torrun, May and Francis, heading back into the streets to fight.

“Has anybody seen Thanos yet,” Wanda asked suddenly through the comms. 

“No,” Quill answered out of breath. “But he’s ship is getting closer.”

“Does anybody know,” Peter yelled as he swung down the street. “Where the hell these things are coming from?”   
“They are here to tire us, so we have no energy to fight Thanos,” Azari said, electrocuting a few aliens. 

“Well mission accomplished,” Tony grunted, flying through the air.

“Can’t keep it up Stark,” Quill quipped, dodging and blasting.

“I swear to God Star Prince I will kick your ass into next week.”

“It’s Star Lord,” Quill whined petulantly. 

Jamie laughed at Quill’s complaining, killing a few aliens by chopping their heads off with her shield. Tony flew around a corner then came shooting back, into a building.

“Tony,” Jamie screamed. She ran over to him, jumping over cars in the way. 

When she reached him, Tony was climbing out of the rubble.

“Lucky shot,” He grumbled, shaking himself. 

“Are you okay?” Jamie asked worriedly.

The face plate came up and Tony smiled at her. “Of course I’m okay, I’m Tony Stark.”

Jamie huffed with a smile, rolling her eyes. “Uh huh sure.”

Tony smiled but stopped, staring at Jamie.

“What, is there something on my face?”   
“You cut your neck...”

“Oh,” Jamie blinked in surprise. She touched the side of her neck and raised her eyebrows in surprise when her hand came back with blood on it. “I didn’t even notice that.”

“The evacuation has started,” Pepper announced, making Tony and Jamie jump.

“Evaci\uation plan?” Wanda asked.

“Nobody wanted a repeat of New York so the Avengers and the governor came up with an evacuation plan in case something like this ever happened. Brooklyn has been cleared and Manhattan is currently being evacuated,” Pepper said. 

“No wonder there’s nobody here,” Peter exclaimed. 

“Pepper,” Tony said softly.

“They’re safe Tony,” She answered his unspoken question. “Happy sent a jet to get the keensers an hour ago, they’re okay.”

Tony let out a sigh of relief, a small weight lifting off his shoulders. Torrun landed next to Jamie, gently grabbing her arm and leaning in. 

“It is time,” Torrun whispered. 

“Okay,” Jamie said, taking a shaky breath. “Hey Tony.”

“Yeah?”

Jamie hesitated, biting her lip. “After this, there’s a girl at M.I.T. named Riri Williams, you should meet her.”

Tony looked at Jamie questioningly. “Any particular reason why I should?”

Jamie shrugged. “Kindred spirit,” She answered cryptically. “Oh, and Tony, call up Fury. Tell him to get Coulson off his ass and start up Sword.”

“Friday, make a note,” Tony said, looking at Jamie with an amused smile.

**Already did boss.**

“Tell me when Thanos hits.” With that, Tony flipped his face plate down and rocketed into the sky.

“Will do,” Jamie whispered, watching him fly away.

Torrun moved her hand up to Jamie’s shoulder. “He landed farther down, no movement yet. He may be waiting for you.”

Jamie took a deep breath. “Let’s do this.”

Torrun nodded and wrapped her arm around Jamie’s waist, lifting her off the ground. Torrun flew Jamie to where Thanos’s ship had landed. She was right, it was just sitting there. Azari, Francis, Pym, and May were waiting for them a few feet away from the ship.

“Alright,” Jamie said when she and Torrun landed. ‘Everyone go through the portal, me and Torrun will lure Thanos through.”

“Uh,” Francis raised his hand. “When did we decide this?”

“On the plane ride,” Azari answered, glaring at the plane.

“Okay cool, just wanted to know when the decision was made without me.”

“Francis, the next time we travel back in time and try to kill a mad titan, we’ll have you make a plan,” Jamie promised. 

“Why thank you,” Francis said sarcastically.

“Jamie, May, where are you guys?” Peter asked. 

Everyone looked at each other and May pressed her comm. “We’re fighting near the Sanctum.”

“Okay, need any help?”

“No,” May said sadly. “We got it.”

“Everything okay?” Quill chimed in.

“All good,” Jamie said, trying to swallow the lump in her throat. “May just tore her favorite pants.”

“I feel your pain,” Tony sympathized, sounding truly traumatized. 

“I don’t want to know how,” Peter shuddered. 

Jamie smiled, listening to the others banter when the door to Thanos’s ship opened with a hiss. Without a single word said, the five of the young avengers took out their ear comms. Jamie hesitated, her arm wouldn’t move to take out the comm. She swore softly and pressed it for the final time. 

“Goodbye,” Jamie said then ripped the comm out and threw it on the ground, smashing it with her foot. 

“We do not have much time,” Azari said, looking around for any of the other avengers. 

Jamie nodded, throwing the jade disk on the ground. “Everyone in  _ now. _ ”

Torrun grabbed Francis by the front of his shirt and kissed him hard. Pym looked like he was about to argue who stayed and who left when May picked him up.

“Let me go,” Pym screamed, struggling to escape. 

May looked at Azari then at Jamie, nodding slightly. She turned and jumped  through the portal with Pym. Azari walked up to Jamie, grabbing the back of her head and gently kissing her forehead.

“Be safe,” He ordered, turning to the portal and going through without looking back. 

Torrun pushed Francis away whispering what sounded like “I love you”. Francis’s eyes were full of pain, he wanted to stay but he knew he couldn’t.

“Bring him to us,” Francis said loudly. 

“We will,” Jamie promised.

Francis nodded and ran into the portal. Jamie walked over and picked it up, stuffing the jade disk into her pocket.

“Ready,” She whispered to Torrun.

“As I will ever be,” Torrun unsheathed her sword, looking at Jamie. 

Jamie cupped her hands over her mouth. “Thanos,” She yelled, “Are you too much of a coward to face me?”

Jamie’s voice echoed off the buildings. Torrun and her shared a worried look. Jamie was about to yell again when a figure emerged from the blackness of the ship.  _ He’s taller than I remember.  _

“You have courage,” Thanos chuckled. “But it won’t save you.”

“I thought we had a deal,” Jamie called, raising her shield.

“Why would I make a deal with you? You have nothing to offer me.”

“Wrong,” Jamie argued, relishing in the confusion that flitted briefly across Thanos’s face. “I do, I can offer you the future.”

Thanos stepped closer and Jamie stood her ground, going against every fiber of her being that was screaming at her to run away. 

“The future?”

“You don’t win, not this time,” Jamie smiled. “I can tell you how to destroy them, all who stand in your path.”

“Why should I believe you humans,” Thanos sniffed, glaring at the two woman. 

“You want to save the world, to cleanse it,” Torrun spoke up, giving Jamie the distraction she needed to grab the jade disk. “This world needs to be cleansed.”

Thanos looked at Torrun thoughtfully. “The rest of your race do not agree with you, in fact they’re quite opposed to my idea.”

Jamie bit her tongue to keep herself from saying  _ no, really?  _

“The rest of my race are fools, great Thanos,” Torrun walked closer to the titan. “Let me help you.”

Thanos looked Torrun up and down then slid his gaze over to Jamie. “And you?”

“I agree, the world needs to be cleansed,” Jamie took a few steps closer. 

Thanos grinned causing shivers to run down Jamie’s skin. “Tell me everything.”

“The world needs to be cleansed,” Jamie repeated, stepping as close as she dared. “Of you.”

Jamie threw the disk at Thanos’s feet before the titan could react. Thanos looked at her then roared as the portal opened beneath his feet and he fell through. Jamie sprinted to the portal with Torrun at her heels and jumped through. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I lied, there's two more chapters


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: there's blood and gore at the end of this chapter, somebody loses a body part. If you don't want to read it, stop at the line <3

“We don't know what to say

We don't know how to make it through another day

Never run, never hide

Always up for the fight

We keep getting it wrong until we get it righ t”

-“Fight ‘Til the End” by Jack Savoretti

Jamie didn’t give herself time to think, she hit the ground then whipped around. Torrun fell through and Jamie darted forward, smashing the jade disk with her shield. 

“Jamie, watch out!”

Jamie turned to the voice and saw Thanos charging at her, she dived to the right and Torrun went to the left. 

“Do not think breaking that cheap magic trinket will stop me,” Thanos jeered, swinging at Jamie. 

“We just needed a way to get your purple ass were we wanted it,” Francis yelled, firing several arrows at Thanos’s face and chest. The titan swatted away Francis’s arrows like they were flys. 

“Foolish boy,” Thanos said pityingly. “You are trapped with me.”

“No,” May corrected him. “You’re trapped with us.”

May and Azari charged Thanos, running in a zig zag to avoid his blasts. At the last second, Azari slide low and May jumped into the air. Thanos punched May out of the air but Azari slid between his legs and savagely hit Thanos in the back with his electric staff. The titan cried out and tried to squash Azari. May used Thanos’s distraction to jump on the Titan’s back. She wrapped an arm around Thanos’s neck, trying to choke the titan. Torrun sprinted up to Thanos and slashed his stomach with her sword. 

“Enough,” Thanos roared. He grabbed May and threw her off. Thanos pointed his gauntlet at Azari and Pym.

“Move,” Azari yelled, pushing Pym out of the way. 

“Hey, ballsack barney,” Jamie yelled, throwing her shield at Thanos’s head. 

Thanos sighed a very put upon sigh, like he couldn’t believe they didn’t fall at his feet.

“Humans,” Thanos sniffed. “Why are you all so determined.”

Jamie shrugged. “Call it a character flaw.”

“You kill, maim, torture each other! I’ve never seen a more divided species and yet,” He walked toward her. “There are those like you. One’s who have such pitiful hope.”

“That’s how we’ll beat you.”

He glared at her, turning his hand. Jamie felt as if her insides were on fire, she was breathing with shards of glass in her lungs.

“Even if you kill all of us, every last inhuman and superhero, we’ll still beat you. That’s why you can never win. Because no matter what you do, there will be hope. Even if it’s just one person, hope will live on. And if there’s hope, it means you loose.”

“How pitiful,” Thanos scoffed. “Hope is an illusion, it can’t save you.”

“Maybe not, but it can sure as hell make it hard to kill us,” Jamie granted then hit the floor. 

Torrun and May hit Thanos as hard as they could, sending the Titan flying forward. 

“Eat it purple dick,” May yelled, throwing herself at Thanos.

They grappled, and it looked like May was winning until Thanos punched her in the side. May cried out in pain, hunching over to protect her injured ribs. Thanos punched May in the face then grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her over his head. Torrun flew around Thanos’s head with Francis, firing arrows at an impossible speed. 

“Hey Pym,” Jamie called, backing up.

“Yeah?” Pym asked, landing on her shoulder.

“Get on my shield,” Jamie said, glaring at Thanos.

“I don’t think that’s legal,” Pym scrunched up his face. 

Jamie dead panned. “Get on my shield and I’ll throw you at Thanos, punch him in the face.”

“Alrighty, just don’t miss.”

Jamie snorted. “I never miss, now buckle up.”

Pym flew onto her shield and tightly gripped an edge. 

“Here we go,” Jamie warned, winding her arm back and throwing the shield with all her might. 

Torrun saw the shield zooming toward Thanos and distracted the Titan by slashing at his legs to distract him. The shield hit Thanos in the back then bounced off. Jamie pressed the recon button, catching the shield midair.

“C’mon Pym,” She said, watching anxiously. 

Pym grew and punched Thanos directly in the eye. The titan roared in pain, trying to swat Pym but he shrunk back down and zipped away. 

“Wait,” Francis yelled, “Pym c’mere, that just gave me an idea.”

Jamie and Azari ran up to Thanos, trying to bring the titan down. Jamie ducked Thanos’s fist and punched him in the throat. Thanos grunted and Jamie quickly scuttled away, letting Azari have a chance. The young prince faked going left then propelled himself towards Thanos’s right side. Azari’s hands sparked blue with electricity and he slapped his hands against Thanos’s side. The titan roared as the electricity burned his flesh, he jerked away from Azari and charged at him. Jamie launched her shield at the back of Thanos’s legs, making the titan stumble so he couldn’t land a hit on Azari. 

“Enough,” Thanos roared, sending a field of energy that knocked everyone off their feet. “I will not be toyed with by children,” He spat, raising his gauntlet. The gauntlet emitted a red light and a high pitched whirring sound filled the air. 

“Jamie,” Francis ran up to her and grabbed her arm. “I have an idea, Pym’ll get on my arrow and I’ll shoot it at Thanos’s gauntlet.”

“How the hell is that gonna work?”

“Just trust me, and get ready to kill Thanos,” Francis said, glaring at Thanos with death in his eyes. 

“Okay,” Jamie knew Francis wouldn’t be swayed when he looked at that. “Get up in a tree though, better cover. We’ll try to give you a clean shot.”

Francis nodded then took off towards a tall tree. “Torrun, can you give me a boost?”

“Aye,” Torrun swooped down and deposited Francis near the top of the tree. 

“May,” Jamie called. The girl looked at her, her eyes were flashing red. “We need to give Francis a clean shot.”

May grinned, showing off elongated teeth, and barreled towards Thanos. 

“Alright then,” Jamie muttered to herself then ran after May. Torrun ran up beside Jamie.

“He needs a clear shot of the gauntlet,” Torrun panted.

“What the hell is he going to do?”

Torrun shrugged as best as she could while running. “Something that will turn the tide of the battle?” She said hopefully. 

Jamie slowed down, trying to come with a plan in her head. “Hopefully, cause this bastard is kicking our asses.”

“We cannot fail,” Torrun said with conviction.

Jamie watched as Azari and May attacked Thanos only to be thrown back a few seconds later. “No,” Jamie agreed, sighing. She looked up at Francis and he gave a thumbs up. Jamie waved May and Azari over, she noticed that Azari was limping slightly. 

“We need to get Francis a clear shot at the gauntlet.”

“What’s he gonna do,” May asked skeptically, staring up at Francis.

“No clue, but we might as well try.”

“True,” May snorted, then winced. “Damn,” She swore softly, holding her side.

“May,” Jamie said suddenly as an incredibly stupid plan came into her head.

“What?”

‘I need you to throw me.”

“Ex-fucking-cuse me? I’m not chucking you at Thanos.”

“Yes you are,” Jamie looked at May. “Francis needs a clear shot and I’m going to give him one.”

“No,” Azari said angrily. “He will kill you.”

“Not if I kill him first,” Jamie brought out the dagger Azari had given her. 

“C’mon,” Jamie said when nobody moved. “We can’t lose this, we can’t. It’s all or nothing.”

“Fine,” May said slowly.

“May!” Azari snapped.

“It’s the only plan we have, got a better one,” She glared at Azari. “I don’t like it but she’s right, we can’t lose.”

“If we are to do it, we must do it know,” Torrun warned, pointing to Thanos. 

He was walking toward them, laughing to himself. 

“May, do it now,” Jamie yelled.

May hesitated, looking from Jamie to Thanos then back again. 

“May!”

She cursed then picked up Jamie. “Get Ready,” She grunted then shot putted Jamie as hard as she could. Jamie went rocketing towards Thanos with a mighty cry. Thanos calmly reached out a hand and caught Jamie by the neck. 

“Foolish girl,” He tutted, shaking his head. 

“Bite me,” Jamie gasped, trying to kick Thanos. 

“What did you hope to accomplish, you can’t beat me,” Thanos asked, squeezing his hand.

Jamie gasped for air as black spots swam across her vision. 

“Why,”Jamie wheezed, still struggling against Thanos’s grip. “This world doesn’t need your  _ help _ .”

Thanos looked Jamie pityingly, like she was a child who didn't understand how the world was. “You don’t understand. I’m trying to save this world. Never, in all my years, have I seen a planet more desperate and in need than yours.”

“You’re wrong,” Jamie shook her head. “We don’t need salvation.”

“You’d rather have damnation?” Thanos hissed, squeezing Jamie’s neck tighter.

She smiled, though it was getting harder to breath. Out of the corner of her eye, Jamie saw Francis notch an arrow. 

“Damnation for all or salvation for few, you’re not a god,” Jamie snarled, punching Thanos’s hand. 

Thanos sighed, shaking Jamie slightly. “You’re the second to say that to me. Do you know what I did to the first? I killed him.”

“You know, you keep threatening to kill me but I think you’re just a big tease.”

Thanos reached his other hand up and gently patted her hair. “I’m done talking with you.”

Jamie glared at Thanos, pouring every ounce of hate she had towards the titan into her eyes then Francis fired. Thanos caught the arrow mid air, breaking it between his fingers. 

“Pathetic,” He scoffed. 

Jamie stared at the broken arrow, feeling her stomach slowly sink.  _ It’s over, it’s all ov-wait a second.  _ Jamie’s eyes zeroed in on Thanos’s arm, something incredibly small was running down it.  _ Pym?.  _ Thanos applied more pressure to Jamie’s neck. She prayed in her head for Pym to hurry up. Jamie knew she would black out in a few seconds. Darkness was slowly creeping into Jamie’s vision when Pym suddenly burst into sight. Using the element of surprise, Pym was able to pry Jamie out of Thanos’s grip.

* * *

 

“Run,” Pym yelled, dragging Jamie along. 

They had made it a few feet, with Thanos chasing them, when Thanos stopped. He looked at his gauntlet than a Pym.    
“No, no,” Thanos screamed, trying to take his gauntlet off. 

Jamie threw herself over Pym, shielding him with her body. A soft beep broke through the tense silence that had fallen. Thanos looked at Jamie, his eyes were absolutely murderous then his hand exploded. The titan fell back with an ear piercing shriek pain. Flesh and bone flew everywhere and blood hung in the air like a disgusting mist. The gauntlet fell to the earth, blood slowly oozing out of it. Jamie staggered to her feet, ears still ringing and she was almost positive some of Thanos’s blood had gotten on her. Thanos threw himself at the gauntlet, grabbing with his other hand while he cradled his bleeding wrist to his chest. 

“No,” Torrun cried. She flew into the sky like an avenging angel. Her hair whipped behind her like a cape and the sword reflected the sunlight, glinting. Thanos crushed the gauntlet, smiling at Jamie like a mad man. 

“What are you doing,” Jamie screamed, running towards him. 

Thanos ripped the stones out of the gauntlet them smashed them against his chest. All buildings surrounding the park creaked and groaned, glass breaking and dust billowing off them. Thanos let go of the stones, they were embedded in his chest, and threw his arms open. 

“Thanos,” Jamie forced herself to run faster.  _ What the hell is he doing?! _

In a single instant, all of the buildings began to crumble down towards them. Entire fronts of the buildings slid down like water and came crashing towards them. Jamie slide on her knees to Thanos to avoid a chunk of concrete flying at her head. She crashed into Thanos’s body. 

“I will take you with me,” Thanos swore, blood bubbling from his lips.

“That’s a promise,” Jamie growled, she grabbed the blade from her beld and drove it into Thanos’s neck. The blade slide through muscle and flesh, sticking out slightly on the other side. Thanos gasped, eyes going wide and listless. 

“Jamie,” Azari screamed, running towards her. 

The debris sliding down and flying through the air stopped, like time froze. Thanos gurgled, looking at Jamie and smiled. He leaned down so that he could whisper into Jamie’s ear.

“Your turn,” He whispered. Jamie scrambled back, glaring at the titan. 

“No, I killed you, we won!”   
Thanos grinned with blood stained teeth and fell back. The second he hit the ground time unfroze. The debris crashed onto the park like a tsunami. Jamie looked up, the last thing she saw before it all went black was a metal beam falling onto her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's two days early, but I couldn't help myself! I really want to finish this story. I'll post the final chapter on Sunday ;)


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As with the last chapter, this one contains graphic depictions of injuries. Go to the very end if injuries and gore aren't something you want to read about.

“With shortness of breath,

I’ll explain the infinite. 

How rare and beautiful it is that we exist”

\- "Saturn" by Sleeping At Last. 

Jamie came to by coughing violently, she spat out blood as she pushed herself up. She felt a body move, shudder, and groan near her. Jamie blindly reached out a hand, her finger brushing against the ground. She eventually touched a body, it was warm and wet and sticky.  _ Blood.  _

“Who’s there,” Someone whispered, their voice was thick and croaking.

“Azari?” She gasped, another cough racked her body. Her side ached viciously, and black dots swam before her eyes. 

“J-Jamie.”

Jamie’s arms gave out, she fell back onto the ground. She crawled slowly until she was laying next to Azari, one arm across his chest.

“We did it, I can’t believe it,” She laughed weakly.

Jamie heard Azari’s smile rather than saw it. “We did.”

“Hello, is anyone there? Please help me,” A voice called. 

“Pym,” Azari yelled, pushing himself up. 

“Azari, help me! I can’t move and May doesn’t look so good.”

“We’re coming,” Azari struggled into a standing position. “Can you move?”

Jamie nodded slowly so she wouldn’t get another splitting headache.  _ Ow, Goddammit.  _ She closed her eyes and clenched her teeth to prevent a moan slipping out. Azari extended a hand and she gingerly took it. Jamie began to pull herself up but a burning pain ripped through her arm. She fell back down with a cry.  _ Sprained, Broken, either way it hurts like a bitch.  _ Azari grabbed her other hand and by leaning on each other and debris the pair managed to stand. They hobbled to where Pym’s voice came from. It was excruciatingly slow, Azari was weaving. A cut across his forehead bleed into his eyes, he wiped the blood away with a huff. Jamie’s left leg was nearly useless, she had to drag it behind her. 

“Pym, Pym where are you,” Azari scanned the rubble, looking for Pym’s bright green suit.

“Over here, go to you right,” He answered weakly. 

Azari and Jamie managed to make it to Pym before they collapsed in a puff of dust. Pym was sitting in a puddle of blood beside a large hunk of building. His arm was bent at an unnatural angle and his right side was dark red.

“Pym, are you alright?” Jamie put a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her, dazed, then shook his head. He pointed to the large concrete block. 

“May’s under there. She was crying, but she stopped about five minutes ago.”

Azari and Jamie exchanged a look. Silently, they braced themselves against the debris and began to push. Pym joined them. It took a while to move the chunk. Jamie kept slipping, blood dripping from her side and leg had created a puddle under her. Pym was shaking, sickly pale and sweat dripping from his forehead. With a final cry and a push, it fell to the side. Under the rubble was May. She was lying on her back, her head was twisted to the right and her breathing was shallow. Jamie fell to her knees beside May.

“May, wake up. C’mon, we need to go. Please wake up” She shook her friend. 

May opened her eyes, one then the other. One pupil was much larger than the other. Tears had made streaks in the dirt that covered her face. Blood matted her hair on one side of her head. 

“My neck,” she sobbed. 

“What?”

“My neck broken, I-I can’t feel anything, I f-felt it snap,” She cried.

“We are going to carry you,” He said with such finality that Jamie didn’t even bother to ask how the three of them could carry May. Azari walked away while Jamie shushed May, petting her hair. She ignored the blood on her fingers as she did so. Pym looked like he was about to throw up. Azari came back, carrying a large board of wood. 

Pym and Azari dragged May onto the plate, apologizing profusely every time she cried out in pain. Jamie hopped out after them.

“Where are Francis and Torunn,” Jamie looked around, straining her ears to pick up any sound of her friends.

“Torunn was in the air when the blast hit, and Francis was in that tree,” Azari pointed to a tree that was a burning stump. Jamie swallowed bile and blood.  _ Please be okay, please be alive.  _ The three avengers half carried half dragged May, always on the lookout for their friends. It was slow going, they had to stop frequently. Either Pym had to vomit stomach bile, Azari had to catch his breath and stop weaving or Jamie had to drag her leg back into a suitable limping position.  _ Why is everything so fuzzy? I can’t feel my legs..... _

“There,” Pym yelled. 

Jamie squinted, closing one eye that was starting to swell shut. Francis was kneeling on the ground, his back to them.

“Francis, over here,” Jamie waved her arm.

Francis didn’t acknowledge them.

“Let’s go,” Azari began to go faster.

Jamie stumbled as she tried to keep his pace. 

“Azari, wait. Slow down.”

As soon as she said it, Azari tripped and fell. They ended up falling around Francis. Azari landed hard on his side, knocking the wind out of him. Pym hit the ground chest first, and May slid onto him. She cried out from the sudden movement. Jamie hit her head, making her lose consciousness for a few seconds.    
“Francis,” She started, but stopped when she looked at him. Bile began to crawl up her throat, she had seen some shit but it pales in comparison to this. Francis was hunched over, cradling was was left of his right arm. A slash against his throat was steadily gushing out blood and a tree splinter was sticking out of his gut.      __

“Was thrown against the tree,” he mumbled, his eyes were wide and unblinking.

Jamie looked down and gasped, ignoring the flare up in her ribs. Torunn was laying on the grass, her eyes were staring at the sky and her hand was clenched around her sword. Blood was surrounding her head, fanning out in a cruel imitation of a crown. It had seeped into her hair and dyed the straw blonde a dark red. She was barely breathing.  The loud sound of sirens pierced through Jamie's mind, making her head ring painfully.

“There’s help,” She gritted her teeth against the pain and pointed at an ambulance that was approaching them.

“We have to hurry!” 

Azari and Jamie pulled May back onto the wooden plank. Pym helped Francis push Torrun into a sitting position, her head lolled back. Francis managed to throw Torrun over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. They shuffled as fast as they could towards the ambulance. 

“Help us, over here,” Jamie cried, waving an arm. 

The ambulance stopped a few yards away. A man climbed out and scanned the area.

“Help,” Azari yelled, pushing himself to carry May faster. 

Jamie stumbled as she tried to keep up with Azari. Her leg as dragging behind her and she was using her ankle to keep upright. 

Pym surged forward with the last burst of energy.

“Help us,” He screamed, one arm wrapped around his side and the other waving frantically.

They were so close to the ambulance.  _ Why can’t they hear us? _

The man turned and stared directly at the six injured heros. 

Jamie opened her mouth to yell again but she collided with an invisible object. The power of the impact sent her sprawling backwards. Azari hit the wall and collapsed to the side. The plank May was laying on slide forward and was abruptly stopped. She slide forward an inch and cried out in pain. Francis fell to his knees and Torrun pitched forward, rolling slightly. Pym slammed against the wall, his momentum too great to stop. 

“No,” He shrieked, pounding at the invisible barricade with his free arm. 

The man turned around, climbed back into his ambulance, and drove away. 

“He left us,” Pym whispered, sliding down to the ground. “He left us!”

Jamie laid on her back, trying to breath through a painful spasm that racked her body. 

“What happens to you at the end,” A voice floated down, at the same time clear and distorted.  

“Do you want to know what happens?” 

_ Strange.......This must be what he meant... _

Jamie helped Azari pull May so that she was laying beside Torunn. Pym laid his head down against May’s stomach and grabbed her hand. Francis mechanically crawled over to Torunn and collapsed nearly on top of her. Jamie limped over so that she was laying above their heads. Azari gingerly set himself down next to her. They all stared at the sky for a while. It was blue, the kind of blue that looked photoshopped. The debris and dust in the air were slowly falling back to earth, twinkling in the sunshine. For New York, right after an attack, it was strangely silent. No sirens, no one was screaming, it was just the six alone in their own little world listening to each other breathing.

“Guys,” Jamie said slowly. It was becoming harder to talk. “I don’t think we’re gonna walk away from this one. But we did it, we really did it.”

Jamie felt someone grabbing her hand. She struggled to raise her head. Francis was holding onto Torunn hand, who was holding May’s hand. Pym was holding May’s other hand and groping for Jamie’s hand. Jamie forced her arm by his hand and gripped his hand with all the strength she had left. Azari used Jamie’s other hand to pull himself closer to Jamie. Jamie’s vision began to tunnel and breathing felt like she had a building on her chest. 

“It’s alright though, we did it. We saved them,” Jamie had to push the words out of her mouth. It took her remaining strength. She wasn’t sure anyone had heard her until Pym squeezed her hand. Jamie felt a single tear run down her face. She was becoming cold.  _ It’s so cold, and everything hurts so much. Maybe if I just close my eyes, it’ll be okay.  _ Jamie let her eyes slide shut, but she snapped them open when she heard someone crying.

“Who is that? What’s wrong.” Jamie couldn’t lift her head, so she stared at the sky.

“It’s May,” Pym sobbed quietly, Jamie felt him shaking. “She’s dead.”

“No,” Jamie moaned. 

Jamie’s eyes, with extreme difficulty, looked at Francis and Torrun. They were laying there, limbs intertwined, with eyes closed. Francis was cupping Torrun’s face with his remaining hand.

“Francis and Torunn,” Azari gulped. “I can’t hear them breathing anymore.”

“May, Torunn, Francis,” Pym cried out, he repeated their names over and over again until he too fell silent. 

Jamie bit her lip with so much force that it bled. Her whole body shook as she tried to keep in her cries and screams. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks. She couldn’t keep silent any longer when she felt Pym’s grip go lax in her hand. Jamie opened her mouth and the most gut wrenching sounds burst out. She began to gasp, choking as she tried to breath in more air between her sobs. Jamie forced herself to stop crying and breath in deep, ragged, gulps of air. She choked on the blood that rose up her throat, coughing and spitting. All she smelt and tasted was the warm iron of blood. Azari squeezed her hand, the warmth of his hand was a burst of feeling, like a star shining through the numbness and coldness of space. 

“Jamie,” He whispered. 

Jamie tried to turn her head but found that she could barely move. She couldn't feeling anything below the waist. 

“I am frightened.”

Azari sounded terrified, like a lost child. 

“It’s okay,” she soothed. “I’m scared too.”

“Death is part of the natural cycle of life, everyone and everything must die. So why am I so frightened of it?”

Jamie stared at the sky, thinking of answer that would even be slightly adequate. 

“I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “Maybe, because death is lonely. When you die, you die all alone.”

“I am not alone,” Azari gently corrected her. “You are here, next to me.”

A hot tear slipped out of Jamie’s eye, landing on the grass she laid on. “Hold me, please, I don’t want to die alone.”

Azari used Jamie’s hand to pull himself next to her. Jame used the very last of her strength to crawl into Azari’s arms. She laid her head on his chest with a weary sigh. 

“I will always hold you, you need only ask,” He promised, gently pressing his lips to Jamie’s hair. 

_ Fuck it, I’m about to die. I might as well tell him that I love him.  _

“And I will always love you, you needn’t ever ask,” She replied, using his wording.

Jamie could feel his shock, his chest stopped moving for a second.

“You-you love me?”

“Always.”

Everything was going dark and soon she didn’t have the energy to cry anymore.  _ I’m too tired and too cold. I just want it to stop.  _ Jamie’s eyes closed for the last time, and she swore she felt a pair of lips lightly kiss hers...

 

...

 

...

 

_ Why is there crying? Who’s crying... _

 

_... _

 

_ Where am I? I-it’s supposed to hurt, why can’t I feel anything? _

 

_.... _

 

_.... _

  
  


_..... _

  
  
  


_..... _

 

_... _

 

_... _

  
  
  


_... _

 

_...Beep... _

 

_.... _

 

_... _

  
  


_... _

  
  


_..Beep.... _

  
  
  


_.... _

  
  


_..Beep... _

  
  
  
  


_..Bee- _

 

Jamie’s eyes snapped open. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ATTENTION: THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL!!!!!  
> That's it, I want to thank everyone for reading my story. All the comments and kudos really encouraged me to keep going, so thank you so much! I knew the ending wasn't going to be the most positive one from the beginning, and I had the final chapter written by the time I posted chapter 4. The Sequel will be released next Sunday, so keep an eye out for that and as always, 'til next time XO.

**Author's Note:**

> Whadda you think? Please leave comments and helpful criticism so I can perfect the story, 'till next time. XO


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